Review: Material Balance

with Chemical Reaction

Fractional conversion
Part of the reactant that is converted into
product
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅
𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 =
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒅
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒅 − 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈
𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 =
𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒅
 Review: Material Balance with Chemical Reaction

200 moles of SO2 and 100 moles O2 are fed to a reactor. And
reacted according to the equation: 2SO2+O2→2SO3 . There are
50 moles of SO3i in the product. Find fractional conversion

reactor
SO2 = 200 SO2 = 200-2E =150
O2 = 100 O2 = 100 - E
2SO2+O2→2SO3 . SO3 = 50 =2E
E = 25
To get f SO2:

SO2 reacted = 2E = 50 SO2 reacted = SO2fed – SO2 left = 200 – 150 = 50

𝟓𝟎 𝟐𝟎𝟎−𝟏𝟓𝟎 𝟓𝟎
𝑭𝑺𝑶𝟐 = = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓 𝑭𝑺𝑶𝟐 = = = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓
𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝟐𝟎𝟎
 Review: Material Balance with Chemical Reaction

200 moles of SO2 and 100 moles O2 are fed to a reactor. And
reacted according to the equation: 2SO2+O2→2SO3 . A
fractional conversion of 35% for SO2 is achieved. Find the
composition of the product and the fractional conversion of
oxygen.

reactor
SO2 = 200 SO2
O2 = 100 O2
2SO2+O2→2SO3 . SO3
 The Case of Recycle
A + B ------ C

Fresh Feed Product

reactor Separation
A C process mostly C and
Feed to
B A possibly some
the
B traces of A and B
reactor

mostly A and B
and possibly some
traces C
To recover the unreacted A, B , recycling is done
But first, the desired product C should be
separated from the unreacted A and B
 The Case of Recycle
A + B ------ C
Fresh
Feed Product
reactor Separatio
A C n process mostly C and
Feed to
B A possibly some
the
B traces of A and B
reactor
mostly A and B
and possibly some
traces C
Two definitions of conversion are used in the analysis of chemical reactors with
product separation and recycle of unconsumed reactants

𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 − 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔
=
𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅
 The Case of Recycle
A + B ------ C
Fresh
Feed Product
reactor Separatio
A C n process mostly C and
Feed to
B A possibly some
the
B traces of A and B
reactor
mostly A and B
and possibly some
traces C

𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 − 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
=
𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓
 The Case of Recycle
A ------ B

Fresh Feed Feed to Product

reactor Separation
the process
A = 75n reactor A = 25 B = 75
A = 100n B = 75

A = 25

Notes:
1. you cannot apply direct material balance in the reactor and in the overall
process because of the chemical reaction, stoichiometric ration, or extent of
reaction should be used

2. However, you can apply direct material balance in the:

separation process and mixing point.
 The Case of Recycle
A ------ B

Fresh Feed Feed to Product

reactor Separation
the process
A = 75n reactor A = 25 B = 75
A = 100n B = 75

A = 25

Over all conversion 75 − 0

= = 100% 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
75

100 − 25
Single Pass Conversion = = 75% 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
100
EXAMPLE: Dehydrogenation of Propane

Propane is dehydrogenated to from propylene in a

catalytic reactor C3H8 → C3H6 + H2
The process is to be designed for a 95% overall
conversion of propane. The reaction products are
separated into two streams: the first, which contains H2,
C3H6, and 0.555% of the propane that leaves the reactor,
is taken off as product; the second stream, which
contains the balance of the unreacted propane and 5%
of the propylene in the product stream, is recycled to the
reactor. Calculate the composition of the product, the
ratio (moles recycled)/(moles fresh feed), and the
single-pass conversion.
Assign
Methanol is produced by reacting carbon monoxide and
hydrogen. A fresh feed stream containing CO and H2 joins a
recycle stream and the combined stream is fed to a reactor. The
reactor outlet stream flows at a rate of 350 mol/min and
contains 10.6 wt. % H2, 64.0 wt/. % CO, and 25.4 wt.% CH3OH.
(Notice that those are percentages by mass, not mole percents)
This stream enters a cooler in which most of the methanol is
condensed. The liquid methanol condensate is withdrawn as a
product, and the gas stream leaving the condenser –which
contains CO, H2 and 0.4 mole% uncondensed CH3OH vapor-is
the recycle stream that combines with the fresh feed. Determine
the following:
Molar flow rate of CO and H2 in the fresh feed
Production rate of liquid methanol
Single pass conversion of carbon monoxide.
Overall conversion of carbon monoxide