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Chemical Engineering – 1997

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Time: 3 hrs
Ques ons Marks Total Nega ve marking
Sec on A 1.1-1.31 1 ´31 = 31 31 No nega ve
marking
2.1-2.19 2 ´19 = 38 38
3.1-3.3 2 ´3 = 6 6
Q 4,5,6,7,8 5 ´5 = 25 25
Subtotal (Sec on A) 100
Sec on B Answer any 10 5 ´10 = 50 50
ques ons(Q 9-Q28)

Total (A+B): 150

General Data :
R (Universal gas constant) = 8.314 J/mole K
G (Acceleration due to gravity) = 9.81 m/s2
Any missing data may be assumed and indicated clearly.

SECTION – A (100 Marks)

Write in your answer book the most appropriate answer to the following multiple choice questions by writing the
corresponding letter A, B, C or D against the question number.

1.1 The sum of the infinite series is

A) 9 B) 9/2
C) 15/2 D) infinity

1.2
A) 0 B) ½
C) 1 D) infinity

1.3 The value of is

 A) >0 B) <0
C) 0 D) undefined

1.4 Given f (x, y) = x2 + y2 , is

A) 4 B) 2
C) 0 D) 4 (x + y)2

1.5 In the system as shown in Fig. 1.5 each stream contains three components.

The maximum number of independent material balances is

A) 3 B) 4
C) 6 D) 9

1.6 When an unsaturated air-water mixture is heated at constant pressure, then

A) the partial pressure of water vapour increasesthe specific humidity decreases

B) the relative humidity increases
C) the relative humidity decreases

1.7 For the laminar flow of a fluid in a circular pipe of radius R, the Hagen-Poissuille equa on predict the volumetric
flowrate to be propor onal to

A) R B) R2,
C) R4 D) R0.5

1.8 In the low Reynolds number region, the drag force on a sphere is propor onal to

A) V, B) V2
C) V4 D) V0.5
Where V is the terminal se ng velocity of the sphere in a viscous medium.

1.9 The hydraulic diameter of an annulus of inner and outer radii R1 and R0 respec vely is

A) 4 (R0 – R1) B) (R0 R1)1/2

C) 2 (R0 – R1) D) R0 + R1

1.10 For crushing of solids, the Ri nger’s law states that the work required for crushing is propor onal to

A) the new surface created B) the size reduction ratio

 C) the change in volume due to crushing D) none of these

1.11 According to the kine c theory, the thermal conduc vity of a monoatomic gas is propor onal to –

A) T B) T0.5
C) T1.5 D) T2

1.12 In thermal radia on, for a black body –

A) B)
C) D)
Where ε is emissivity and α is the absorp vity.

1.13 For stripping of a gas in a counter current stripper, the opera ng line

A) lies above the equilibrium curve

B) lies below the equilibrium curve
C) can lie above or below the equilibrium curve
D) is always parallel to the equilibrium curve

1.14 In binary dis lla on, the separa on of the components is easier if the rela ve vola lity (α) is –

A) α >> 1 B) α << 1
C) α= 1 D) none of these

1.15 Molecular diffusivity of a liquid –

A) increases with temperature B) may increase or decrease with temp.

C) decreases with temperature D) is independent of temperature

1.16 For turbulent mass transfer in pipes, the Sherwood number depends upon the Reynolds number (Re) as

A) Re0.33, B) Re0.53,
C) Re0.83, D) Re

1.17 A reversible liquid phase endothermic reac on is to be carried out in a plug flow reactor. For minimum reactor
volume, it should be operated such that the temperature along the length

A) decreases
B) increases
C) is at the highest allowable temperature throughout
D) first increases and then decrease

1.18 The residence me distribu on of an ideal CSTR is

A) B)

C) D)
1.19 A system undergoes a change from a given ini al state to a given final state either by an irreversible process(∆SI )
or by a reversible process (∆SR). Then

A) ∆ SI is always > ∆SR B) ∆SI is sometimes > ∆SR

C) ∆SI is always < ∆SR D) ∆ SI is always = ∆SR

Where ∆SI and ∆SR are the entropy changes of the system for the irreversible and reversible processes, respec vely.

1.20 The change in Gibbs free energy for vapouriza on of a pure substance is –

A) Positive B) negative
C) Zero D) may be positive or negative

1.21 The equilibrium constant, K, for a chemical reac on depends on

A) temperature only, B) pressure only
C) temperature and pressure D) ratio of reactants

1.22 The decomposi on of A into B is represented by the exothermic reac on A B. To achieve maximum
decomposi on, it is desirable to carry out the reac on –

A) at high P and high T B) at low P and high T

C) at low P and low T D) at high P and low T

1.23 The transfer func on of a PID controller is

Where τI is the integral (reset) me and τD is the deriva ve me.

1.24 The transfer func on for a first-order process with me delay is

1.25 The open-loop transfer func on of a process is the root locus diagram, the poles will be at
A) -1, -4, B) 1, 4
C) -2, -3 D) 2, 3

1.26 For an input forcing func on, X(t) = 2t2, the Laplace transform this func on is
A) 2 / s2, B) 4 / s2,
C) 2 / s3, D) 4 / s3,
1.27 A propor onal controller with a gain of KC is used to control first-order process. The offset will increase if –

A) KC is reduced
B) KC is increased
C) integral control action is introduced
D) derivative control action is introduced

1.28 Two iron pipes of the same nominal diameter but different schedule numbers will have

A) the same inside diameter B) the same outside diameter

C) the same wall thickness D) none of the above

1.29 A suitable material of construc on to use with fuming sulphuric acid is

A) carbon steel B) stainless steel type 304

C) nickel D) monel

1.30 In dis lla on columns, the number of bubble cape per tray primarily depends on the –

A) allowable liquid velocity B) allowable gas velocity

C) feed composition D) allowable gas and liquid velocities

1.31 For shell-and-tube heat exchanger, with increasing heat transfer area, the purchased coat per unit heat transfer
area

A) increases, B) decreases
C) remains constant D) passes through a maxima

2. Write in your answer book the most appropriate answer to the following multiple choice questions by writing
the corresponding letter A,B,C or D against the subquestion number,

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2.1 A polynomial, f (x), is sketched below (Fig. 2.1)

Its order is
A) 3 B) 2 C) 4 D) > 5
2.2 The cubic equa on x3 –x + 10 = 0 has a root in the interval
A) (-1 ,0) B) (0, 1)
C) (-3, -1) D) (3, 4)

2.3 The Fourier series of the func on – extended periodically, f (x + 2π)= f (x), is

A) a sine series B) a cosine series

C) a mixed series D) a power series

2.4 Pure carbon is completely burnt in oxygen. The flue gas analysis is 70% CO2, 20% CO and 10% O2. The percent
excess oxygen used is

A) 20 B) 12.5
C) 0 D) 10

2.5 A flow sheet is given in Fig. 2.5.

If the single-pass (once-through) conversion of A to B is 20%. Then the rate of recycle R (moles/hr) is
A) 300 B) 400 C) 500 D) 600

2.6 For laminar flow of a fluid through a packed bed of spheres of diameter d, the pressure drop per unit length of
bed depends upon the sphere diameter as

A) d, B) d2, C) d4, D) 1/d2,

2.7 A suspension of glass beads in ethylene glycol has a hindered se ling velocity of 1.7 mm/s while the terminal
se ling velocity of a single glass bead in ethylene glycol is 17 mm/s. If the Richardson-Zaki hindered se ling index is
4.5, the volume frac on of solids in the suspension is

A) 0.1 B) 0.4
C) 0.6 D) none of these

2.8 A 0.5 m high bed made up of a 1 mm diameter glass spheres (density 2500 kg/m3) is to be fluidized by water
(density 1000 kg/m3). If at the point of incipient fluidiza on, the bed voidage is 40%, the pressure drop across the
bed is
 A) 4.4 kPa B) 2.94 kPa
C) 3.7 kPa D) none of these

2.9 At steady state, the temperature varia on in a plane wall, made of two different solids I and II is shown below
(Fig. 2.9).

Then, the thermal conduc vity of material I

A) is smaller than that of II B) is greater than that of II

C) is equal to that of II D) can be greater than or smaller than that of II

2.10 The thermal radia ve flux from a surface of emissivity = 0.4 is 22.68 kW/m2. The approximate surface
temperature (K) is

A) 1000 B) 727
C) 800 D) 1200
Stefan-Boltzmann’s constant = 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2 k4

2.11 For condensa on of pure vapours, if the heat transfer coefficients in film wise and drop wise condensa on are
respec vely hf and hd, then

A) hf = hd B) hf > hd
C) hf < hd D) hf could be greater or smaller than hd

2.12 In a binary dis lla on column, if the feed contains 40 mol% vapour, the q line will have a slope of

A) 1.5 B) -0.6
C) -1.5 D) 0.6

2.13 According to the film theory of mass transfer, the mass transfer coefficient is propor onal to

A) D, B) D2,
C) D0.5, D) 1 / D,
Where D is the molecular diffusivity.

2.14 The gas phase reac on 2A à B is carried out in an isothermal plug flow reactor. The feed consists of 80 mol% A
and 20 mol% inerts. If the conversion of A at the reactor exit is 50%, then CA/CA0 at the outlet of the reactor is

A) 2/3 B) 5/8
 C) 1/3 D) 3/8
2.15 For a first-order isothermal chemical reac on in a porous catalyst, the effec veness factor is 0.3. The
effec veness factor will increase if the

A) catalyst size is reduced or the catalyst diffusivity is reduced

B) catalyst size is reduced or the catalyst diffusivity is increased
C) catalyst size is increased or the catalyst diffusivity is reduced
D) catalyst size is increased or the catalyst diffusivity is increased

2.16 The rate of the heterogeneous catalyst reac on A(g) + B(g) àC(g) is where KA and KC
are the adsorp on equilibrium constants. The rate-controlling step for this reac on is

A) Adsorption of A
B) Surface reaction between adsorbed A and adsorbed B
C) Surface reaction between adsorbed A and B in the gas phase
D) Surface reaction between A in the gas phase and adsorbed B

2.17 One mole feed of a binary mixture of a given composi on is flash vapourised at a fixed P and T. If Raoult’s law is
obeyed, then changing the feed composi on would effect

A) the product composition but not the fraction vapourized

B) the product composition as well as the fraction vapourized
C) the fraction vapourized but not the product composition
D) neither the product composition nor the fraction vapourized

2.18 The molar excess Gibbs free energy, gE, for a binary liquid mixture at T and P is given by (gE/RT) = Ax1x2, where A
is a constant. The corresponding equa on for ln γ1, where γ1 is the ac vity coefficient of component 1, is

A) Ax22, B) Ax1

C) Ax2 D) Ax12,

2.19 The transfer func on of a process is If a step change is introduced into the system, then the
response will be

A) underdamped B) critically damped

C) overdamped D) none of the above

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3. Match the items in the le column with the appropriate items in the right column.
3.1 i) Naphtha A) Solvay process
ii) Sodium hydroxide B) Steam reforming
C) Mercury cell
D) DCDA process
 3.2 i) LPG A) CO, CO2, H2
ii) Synthesis gas B) C2H4,C3H8
C) C3 H8,C4H10
D) CO, H2

3.3 i) Global warming A) unleaded gasoline

ii) Methyl ter ary butylether B) nitrous oxides
C) chlorofluoro-carbons
D) leaded gasoline

4. In the figure given below (Fig. 4), calculate the power required by the pump to deliver water at 3 m/s from a pond.
The inner diameter of the pipe is 25 mm. Neglect all losses in the pipe. Density of water is 1000 kg/m3

Fig. 4

5. Water at the rate of 6800 kg/hr is to be heated from 311 K to 328 K in a double pipe heat exchanger by using
another water stream in the annulus. The hot water enters the annulus counter currently at the rate of 3400 kg/hr
and at 366 K. The overall heat transfer coefficient is 1420 W/m2.K. The outside diameter of the inner pipe is 0.115
m. Es mate the length of the exchanger. Heat capacity of water is 4180 J/kg.K.

6. For a second-order liquid phase reac on, A àproducts, occurring in an isothermal plug flow reactor, the
conversion is 50%. What will be the conversion if the plug flow reactor is replaced by a con nuous s rred tank
reactor of the same volume ?

7. An equimolar mixture of benzene and toluene is contained in a piston/cylinder arrangement at a temperature T.

What is the maximum pressure below which this mixture will exist as a vapour phase alone? At the given T, the
vapour pressures of benzene and toluene are 1530 and 640 mm Hg, respec vely. Assume that Raoult’s law is valid.

8. A control system is shown below (Fig. 8),

 (a) Determine the variation of C with time for a unit step change in the set-point.
(b) What is the offset ?

SECTION – B
Answer any TEN ques ons in this sec on. Each ques on carries 5 marks.
9. Find the value of λ such that the ques on given below has a non-zero solu on.

10. For the matrix A given below :

(a) Calculate its eigenvalues and

(b) Determine the eigenvector corresponding to the lowest eigenvalue.

11. For each of the five parts, select the most appropriate answer from the column on the right.
(a) Na2CO3 A) Haber process
B) Solvay process
C) Fischer-Tropsch process
D) Castner-Kellner process

(b) Prilling tower A) Cement

B) Potassium chloride
C) Urea
D) Triple superphosphate

(c) Extrac ve dis lla on A) Nitric acid

B) Caustic soda
C) Sulfuric acid
D) Urea

(d) Linear alkyl benzene sulphonate A) Detergents

B) Perfumes
C) Pharmaceuticals
D) Refrigerants

(e) V2O5 A) Ammonia

B) Sulfuric acid
C) Polypropylene
D) Nylon

12. Sea water is desalinated by reverse osmosis as shown in Fig. 12.

All composi ons are on mass basis. Calculate R/E.

13. A feed at 1298 K, consis ng of flue gas (CO2, O2 and N2) and air, is passed through a bed of pure carbon. The two
reac ons that occur both go to comple on
CO2 (g) + C(s) à2CO (g), ∆HR0 at 298 K = 170 kJ/mol

O2 (g) + 2C(s)à2CO (g), ∆HR0 at 298 K = -220.4 kJ/mol

The combustor is adiaba c and the product gases exit at 1298 K. Calculate the required moles of CO2 per mol of O2 in
the feed stream, so that the net heat generated is zero and the bed temperature remains constant at 1298 K.

Data : Mean Molar Heat Capacities, Cpm

Substance Cpm, kJ/(mol)(K)
C 0.02
O2 0.03
CO 0.03
CO2 0.05

14. In a delivery line for carbon tetrachloride at the constant flowrate of 4 x 10-5 m3 /s, the first 1000 m long sec on
is of 20 mm inside diameter smooth pipe followed by another 1000 m long sec on of 50 mm inside diameter smooth
pipe, as shown in Fig. 14.

Es mate the pressure drop over the en re length of the delivery line. Neglect the minor losses due to sudden
enlargement of pipe diameter.
For carbon tetrachloride, viscosity = 10-3 Pa.s and density = 1500 kg/m3.
For laminar flow, f = 16/Re,
For transi onal-turbulent flow, f = 0.079 Re-0.25 where f is the Fanning fric on factor.
15. A rectangular piece of wood (density = 650 kg/m3) 75 mm x 75 mm x 2000 mm in size floats on water (density =
1000 kg/m3). How many kilograms of lead of density 11.200 kg/m3 must be put on the top of the wooden piece so
that it will float upright with 300 mm of its length above the water surface ?

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16. It is proposed to reduce the heat loss from a rectangular furnace wall by doubling its wall thickness as shown in
fig. 16. The temperature of the hot surface of the wall is 723 K, and it loses heat from the other side exposed to air at
308 K. In case I, the temperature of the wall surface exposed to air is 453 K.

Es mate the % reduc on in heat loss due to the doubling of wall thickness. Neglect the radia on losses and assume
1-D conduc on. Also assume the thermal conduc vity (k) of furnace wall and the connec ve heat transfer coefficient
(h) to be constant.

17. A steel ball of 50 mm diameter is cooled by exposing it to an air stream at 320 K. Under these condi ons the
connec ve heat transfer coefficient is 100 W/m2.K. Es mate the me needed to cool the steel ball from 1120 to 520
K.
Properties of steel : Density = 8000 kg/m3 and heat capacity = 450 J/kg.K.
Due to the high thermal conduc vity of steel, there are no temperature gradients within the ball.

18. It is desired to absorb acetone from a dilute mixture of acetone/air containing I mol% acetone by contac ng it
counter currently with pure water in an absorber consis ng of two theore cal (ideal) stages. The total inlet gas flow
rate is 30 k.mol/hr and that of water is 90 k.mol/hr. Under the opera ng condi ons, the equilibrium rela onship for
acetone in gas-liquid is y = 2x. Es mate the mol frac on of acetone in the water stream leaving the absorber.

19. Calculate the me required to reduce the moisture content of a solid from 0.66 to 0.25 kg moisture/kg dry solid.
The rate of drying N (kg water evaporated/m2.s) is given as
N = 0.0015 X for x < 0.3
= 0.00045 for x > 0.3
where X = moisture/kg dry solid. The drying surface is 0.025 m2/kg dry solid.

20. A feed of known composi on (binary mixture of constant rela ve vola lity) is to be dis lled in a con nuous
frac ona ng column consis ng of a par al condenser, one plate, and a reboiler. The feed enters the reboiler from
which a bo om product is con nuously withdrawn. The liquid reflux from the par al condenser is returned to the
plate. The dis llate composi on, XD, is 0.8 and the reflux ra o is 2.

(a) What is the slope of the operating line on x – y plot and its intercept on the y – axis ?
 (b) Using the McCabe-Thiele method, qualitatively locate on the x – y plot :
i) the composition of the streams leaving the plate, and
ii) the bottom product composition, (do not use graph paper).

21. Liquid A decomposes in a batch reactor by zeroth order kine cs. The ini al concentra on of A is 0.5 k.mol/m3
and for a reac on me of 1200s, the conversion is 40%. Assume isothermal condi ons.

(a) Determine the rate constant for this reaction,

(b) What will be the conversion for a reaction time of 3600s ?

22. The first order, exothermic, irreversible, liquid phase reac on A à B is to be conducted in an adiaba c CSTR. The
desired conversion is 70% and the reactor is to be operated at 353 K. For the data given below find
(a) the required volume of the CSTR
(b) the feed temperature
Data: The rate constant at 353 K = 0.02 s-1
Inlet volumetric flow rate = 0.01 m3/s
Density of inlet stream = 1000 kg/m3
Inlet concentration of A = 2.0 k.mol/m3
Heat of reaction (independent of temp) = - 50,000k J/ k mol of A reacting
Average heat capacity of inlet and outlet streams= 2 k J/kg.K.

23. The liquid phase parallel reac on –

AàR : rR = k1 CA : k1 = 0.3 s-1

AàS : rS = k2 : k2 = 0.3 kmol/m3.s

is conducted in an isothermal plug flow reactor. The inlet concentra on of A is 2.0 k.mol/m3. No products are
present in the feed. If conversion of A is 80%, then determine the exit concentra on of R.

24. Determine the mol frac on of methane, x1, dissolved in a light oil at 200 K and 20 bar. Henry’s law is valid for the
liquid phase, and the gas phase may be assumed to be an ideal solu on. At these condi ons,
Henry’s law constant for methane in oil = 200 bar
Fugacity coefficient of pure methane gas = 0.90
Mol. fraction of methane in the gas phase, y1 = 0.95

25. Ethanol is manufactured by the vapour phase hydra on of ethylene according to the reac on :
C2H4 (g) + H2O (g) C2 H5 OH (g)
The reactor operates at 400 K and 2 bar and the feed is a gas mixture of ethylene and steam in the mol ra o 1:3. The
equilibrium constant is 0.25. Es mate the composi on (mol%) of the equilibrium mixture. Assume ideal gas
behaviour and take f10= 1 bar, where f10 is the standard state fugacity of component 1.

26. The open loop transfer func on for a process is , where the me constant is in minutes. Determine (a)
the cross over frequency and (b) the ul mate gains.

27. A control system is shown below (Fig. 27).

Using the Routh test, determine the value of KC at which the system just becomes unstable.

28. For a chemical plant, the fixed capital investment is Rs 4 x 109 and the working capital is 20% of the total capital
investment. The annual total product costs are Rs 2 x 109 whereas the annual deprecia on costs are Rs 2 x 108. If the
total annual sales are Rs 3 x 109 and the income-tax rate is 40%, then determine –
(a) The percent of total capital investment returned annually as gross profit.
(b) The payout time, Neglect start-up costs.

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