Mock Board Examination

Licensure Examination for Chemical Engineers (April 2006)

Subject: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
1. Natural rubber is a polymer of _____.
A. elastin C. Lignin
B. isoprene D. Terpene
2. Which of the following mode(s) of bioreactor operation would you definitely not consider for biomass production?
A. batch C. Continuous
B. fed-batch D. immobilized-cell bioreactor
For problems 3-6:
A producer gas has the following composition by volume: CO - 25.0%; CO2 - 4.4%; O2 - 2.4%; and, N2 - 68.2%. Calculate
the following:
3. The cubic meter of the gas, at 25oC and 750 mm Hg pressure, per kg of carbon present.
A. 2.77 C. 6.84
B. 5.74 D. 7.02
4. The volume of air, at the same condition in No. 3, required for the combustion of 10 m 3 of the gas at the same
conditions if it is desired that the total oxygen present before combustion shall be 20% in excess of that theoretically
required.
A. 5.77 m3 C. 6.70 m3
B. 6.00 m3 D. 7.61 m3
5. The % by volume of CO2 in the gas mixture leaving the burner of No. 3, assuming complete combustion.
A. 17.3% C. 20.8%
B. 19.9% D. 22.2%
6. The volume of the gases leaving the combustion in Nos. 3 and 4 at a temperature of 1100 oC and a pressure of 750
mm Hg per 10 m3 of gas burned.
A. 26.17 m3 C. 70.04 m3
B. 67.96 m3 D. 84.12 m3
For problems 7-8:
Air at 30oC and a pressure of 750 mm Hg has a percentage humidity of 60. At 30 oC, the vapor pressure of water is 31.81
mm Hg.
7. What is the partial pressure of water vapor in the air?
A. 11.84 mm Hg C. 19.09 mm Hg
B. 12.05 mm Hg D. 19.42 mm Hg
8. Calculate the pressure to which the air must be compressed, at constant temperature, in order to remove 90% of the
water present.
A. 13.33 atm C. 16.08 atm
B. 15.79 atm D. 16.84 atm
9. The sum of reflectivity, absorptivity and transmissivity is equal to
A. emissivity. C. 0.
B. Planck’s constant. D. 1.
For problems 10-14:
1.0 kg of air, assumed to behave ideally, executes a Carnot power cycle having a thermal efficiency of 50%. The heat
transfer to the air during the isothermal expansion is 40 kJ. At the beginning of the isothermal expansion, the pressure is 700
kPa and the volume is 0.12 m3.
10. Determine the maximum temperature for the cycle, in K.
A. 293.0 K C. 316.0 K
B. 300.0 K D. 410.0 K
11. Determine the minimum temperature for the cycle, in K.
A. 146.5 K C. 158.0 K
B. 150.0 K D. 205.0 K
12. Determine the volume at the end of the isothermal expansion, in m 3.
A. 0.16 C. 0.26
B. 0.19 D. 0.31
13. Determine the work during the adiabatic expansion, in kJ.
A. -95 kJ C. -105 kJ
B. -100 kJ D. -135 kJ
14. Determine the work required during the adiabatic compression, in kJ.
A. 105 kJ C. 185 kJ
B. 135 kJ D. 230 kJ
15. “Wet” steam at 480 K has an enthalpy of 2000 kJ/kg. What is the fraction of saturated water vapor in the steam?
A. 0.366 C. 0.584
B. 0.416 D. 0.634
16. What is the state of water whose temperature and entropy are 340 K and 0.85 kJ/kg-K, respectively?
A. Saturated liquid C. Subcooled liquid
B. Saturated vapor D. Superheated vapor
17. What is the Prandtl number of air at 127oC and 80 bar pressure?
A. 0.694 C. 0.701
B. 0.696 D. 0.732
18. What is the diffusivity of mercury vapor in nitrogen at 273 K and 1 atm?
A. 0.112 cm2/s C. 0.53 cm2/s
B. 0.13 cm2/s D. 0.61 cm2/s
19. Which of the following gas/vapor pairs has the highest diffusivity at the same temperature and pressure?
A. acetone-air C. hydrogen-nitrogen
B. CS2-hydrogen D. oxygen-CO2
20. In the factorial method of cost estimation, the fixed capital cost of the project, FC, is given as a function of the total
purchase equipment cost, TEC, by the equation: FC = L f (TEC), where Lf is the Lang factor whose value depends on
the type of the process. What is the value of Lf for a predominantly fluids processing plant?
A. 3.1 C. 4.2
B. 3.6 D. 4.7

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 Mock Board Examination
Licensure Examination for Chemical Engineers (April 2006)
Subject: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
21. Which of the following investment criteria readily shows how soon investment will be recovered but gives no
information on later years?
A. net future worth C. payback time
B. net present worth D. rate of return
22. What is the major disadvantage of using rate of return as the investment criteria in evaluating a project?
A. It shows no indication of project performance. C. It takes no account of the timing of cash flows.
B. It takes no account of the time value of money. D. It shows no indication of the resources needed.
23. Saponification of fatty acids is carried out in kettles using 12.6 to 14% NaOH solution. Heat is supplied by direct
steam. Kettle is kept boiling for 4 hours. After 4 hours, NaCl is added and boiling continued another 4 hours. Soap
separates as upper layer, and glycerin and NaCl separate as lower layer. Which of the following is the most
economic construction material to carry out this operation?
A. Carbon steel C. Type 304 stainless steel
B. Glass-lined steel D. Type 316 stainless steel
24. Which of the following is the best construction material for the reactor used in digesting wood by the sulfite process?
A. Brick-lined steel C. Rubber-coated steel
B. Glass-lined steel D. Type 304 stainless steel
25. List the following materials of construction in increasing order of price per pound: Type 316 stainless steel, Type
304 stainless steel, Hastelloy C, and Inconel.
A. Type 316 stainless steel; Type 304 stainless C. Type 316 stainless steel; Type 304 stainless steel;
steel; Hastelloy C; Inconel Inconel; Hastelloy C
B. Type 304 stainless steel; Type 316 stainless D. Type 304 stainless steel; Type 316 stainless steel;
steel; Hastelloy C; Inconel Inconel; Hastelloy C
26. The wall of an industrial furnace is constructed from 0.15-meter thick fireclay brick having a thermal conductivity of
1.82 W/m-K. Measurements made during steady-state operation reveal temperatures of 1400 and 1120 K at the inner
and outer surfaces, respectively. What is the rate of heat loss through a wall that is 0.5 m by 1.3 m on a side?
A. 1699 W C. 3397 W
B. 2208 W D. 4417 W
27. Which of the following is incorrect?
A. Conduction is energy transfer due to random C. Fourier’s law of heat conduction defines thermal
molecular motion. conductivity as a thermal property of matter.
B. The rate of conductive heat transfer is D. The minus sign in Fourier’s law is a consequence of
proportional to the temperature of the the fact heat is transferred in the direction of
isothermal plane. decreasing temperature.
28. Which mode of heat transfer induces flow by buoyancy forces, which arise from density differences caused by
temperature variations in the fluid?
A. Forced convection C. Conduction
B. Natural convection D. Radiation
29. Which of the following would generally have the highest convection heat transfer coefficient?
A. Free convection in gases C. Forced convection in liquids
B. Forced convection in gases D. Convection in condensing vapors
30. An algebraic expression for the dynamic relation between the selected input and output of the process model.
A. forcing function C. response function
B. input function D. transfer function
31. The steady-state gain of a liquid-level system is equal to
A. resistance. C. area x resistance
B. 1/resistance D. area / resistance
32. A general purpose proportional-only control has proportional gain KC = 1.25. What is the proportional band?
A. 0.80% C. 80%
B. 1.25% D. 98.75%
33. Consider laminar flow of fluid in horizontal circular pipe. What is the effect on pressure drop of doubling both the
radius of the pipe and the volumetric flow rate while keeping the flow laminar all other properties constant?
A. The pressure drop remains unchanged. C. The pressure drop will increase by a factor of 4
B. The pressure drop will change by a factor of D. The pressure drop will decrease by a factor of 1/4.
1/8.
34. A U-tube measures
A. atmospheric pressure. C. absolute pressure.
B. gage pressure. D. vapor pressure.
35. When the effect of pressure to a fluid is significant, the fluid is
A. a gas. C. compressible.
B. a liquid. D. incompressible.
36. Which of the following is most likely a property of laminar flow?
A. eddies C. swirls
B. lateral mixing D. low velocity
37. Shear-thinning, non-Newtonian fluids such as starch suspensions or catsup are classified as
A. Bingham plastic. C. pseudoplastic.
B. dilatant. D. rheopectic.
38. An open test-tube at 293 K is filled at the bottom with 12.1 cm of Hg and 5.6 cm of water is placed above the Hg.
Calculate the pressure at the bottom of the test tube if the atmospheric pressure is 750 mm Hg.
A. 16.7 kPa C. 116.7 kPa
B. 21.9 kPa D. 121.8 kPa
39. Which of the following in incorrect?
A. The kinetic energy per unit mass flowing is C. For a given volumetric flow rate Q, the pressure drop
approximately ½ u2 for turbulent flow in pipe. for turbulent flow in a pipe is approximately
proportional to 1/D5, where D is the pipe diameter.
B. Newton’s law relating shear stress and viscosity D. For a rough pipe, the Fanning friction factor keeps on
can be related to the transfer of momentum on a decreasing as the Reynolds number increases.

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 Mock Board Examination
Licensure Examination for Chemical Engineers (April 2006)
Subject: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
molecular scale.
For problems 40-42:
Hydrolysis of a chlorophosphorus organic waste residue from a plant manufacturing insecticides is to be carried out in
vessels of suitable material of construction. The hydrolysis will take place at a pressure slightly less than atmospheric. The
temperature in the hydrolysis vessel is to be maintained at between 80 to 90 oC. The residue is added to the hydrolyzer vessel
at controlled rate so that the peak rate of gas evolution does not exceed design rate for pollution abatement facility. The
products of hydrolysis are
Gaseous: HCl, H2S, CH3OH, C2H5OH, water vapor
In solution: H3PO4, H2SO4, H2SO3, HCl
40. As a process engineer, which of the following materials of construction would you recommend for the hydrolyzer?
A. Brick-lined steel C. Rubber-lined steel
B. Karbate D. Type 304 stainless steel (18-8 Mo)
41. Heat to the hydrolyzer is to be supplied by an immersion heater of suitable material of construction. The heater uses
steam at 75 psig. The suitable material of construction for this heater is
A. Karbate C. Teflon
B. Hastelloy B D. Type 316 stainless steel
42. The gases from the hydrolyzer are combusted for the purpose of further treatment to meet pollution abatement
standards. Products of combustion, viz SO 2, SO3, HCl, CO2, steam, N2 and O2 leave the combustion chamber at
about 1800oF and are to be quenched in a tower-type vessel. A suitable material for the lining of the steel vessel is
A. acid-resistant brick. C. Monel.
B. glass. D. rubber.
43. Based on knowledge of major items of equipment, this type of capital cost estimate for a plant design project has a
probable accuracy of estimate over +30% to –30%.
A. definitive estimate C. preliminary estimate
B. order-of-magnitude estimate D. study estimate
44. Which of the following groups consists of cost items all classified as fixed charges?
A. cost of storage facilities, advertising, sales C. raw materials, power and utilities, royalties, labor
expenses cost
B. depreciation, property taxes, insurance, rent D. none of these
For problems 45-46:
The purchased cost of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger (floating head and carbon-steel tubes) with 100 ft 2 of heating surface
was $3,200 in 1982.
45. What will be the purchased cost of a similar heat exchanger with 240 ft 2 of heating surface in 1982 if the purchased-
cost-capacity exponent is 0.60 for surface area ranging from 100 to 400 ft 2?
A. $ 4,620 C. $ 5,410
B. $ 4,540 D. $ 7,680
46. If the purchased-cost-capacity exponent for this type of heat exchanger is 0.81 for surface areas ranging from 400 to
2000 ft2, what will be the purchased cost of a heat exchanger with 800 ft 2 of heating surface in 1986? The average
inflation rate from 1982 to 1986 is 0.85%.
A. $13,000 C. $ 17,840
B. $ 13,330 D. $ 23,210
For problems 47-48:
The irreversible isomerization A  B was carried out in a batch reactor and the following concentration-time data were
obtained:
t, minutes 0 5 8 10 15
CA, mole/L 4.000 2.251 1.594 1.267 0.713
47. What is the order of the reaction?
A. 0 C. 1
B. ½ D. 2
48. What is the specific reaction rate constant for the reaction?
A. 0.039 L/mole-min C. 0.115 /min
B. 0.047 L/mole-min D. 0.350 mole/L-min
For problems 49-50:
Gaseous reactant A decomposes according to the reaction A  3R (-rA = 0.5 CA mole/L-min). The feed, which consists of
70% A and 30% inert, enters a 1.5-m3 CSTR at a flow rate of 150 L/min.
49. What is the fractional change in volume between X A = 0 and XA = 1?
A. 1.4 C. 2.4
B. 2 D. 2.43
50. If CA0 = 0.30 mole/L, what is the conversion, XA?
A. 0.65 C. 0.86
B. 0.71 D. 0.92
51. The Chemical Engineering Law of 2004 the Philippines is known as
A. R.A. 318 C. P.D. 223
B. R.A. 9297 D. P.D. 318
52. If the driving force for a certain gas-liquid system is p Ab – pA*, the system could be that of _____ with the
corresponding mass transfer coefficient being ______.
A. gas absorption … kg C. stripping … kg
B. gas absorption … KG D. stripping … KG
53. For a liquid system, the Schmidt number is 2.50 at 280 K and 1 atm. If the temperature is changed to 300 K and the
pressure to a value where the viscosity is unaffected, what is the new Schmidt number?
A. 2.22 C. 2.68
B. 2.33 D. 2.82
54. The air to be circulated inside a drying compartment normally undergoes pre-heating before being fed to the dryer.
What happens to the absolute humidity of the air after pre-heating?
A. It remains the same. C. It decreases.
B. It increases. D. It cannot be predicted.

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 Mock Board Examination
Licensure Examination for Chemical Engineers (April 2006)
Subject: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
55. The equilibrium moisture content of all materials
A. is zero. C. is less than critical free moisture content.
B. depends on the humidity of the air used in D. is 100% (wet-basis).
drying.
56. The separation of solid particles into several fractions on the basis of their terminal velocities is called
A. classification. C. sedimentation.
B. flotation. D. screening.
57. How many grams of water must be added to 100 g of 20% oleum to produce a 95% solution (by weight) of H 2SO4?
A. 3.3 g C. 5.0 g
B. 4.5 g D. 14 g
58. Which of the following is not true as regard gas absorption?
A. The operating line is always below the C. The gas flow rate decreases if there is no evaporation
operating line. from the liquid phase.
B. The equilibrium line is straight at low D. The operating line is always a straight line.
concentrations.
59. It is the measure of the separation effectiveness of the particular packing material for the chemical species being
processed in a packed column.
A. NTU C. HTU
B. HETP D. Packed height
60. What is the wet-bulb temperature of wet air with a dew-point temperature of 100 oC and whose RH is 20%?
A. 100oF C. 117oF
o
B. 108 F D. 160oF
61. The conditions in a counterflow induced-draft cooling tower are as follows: hot water temperature = 110 oF; cold
water temperature = 75oF; wet-bulb temperature = 70oF; and, water rate = 1800 gal/min. What is the tower area?
A. 600 ft2 C. 1000 ft2
B. 900 ft2 D. 1200 ft2
62. In cooling towers and other dehumidification operations, make-up water are introduce into the system to
A. maintain steady-state operation. C. decrease cooling rate.
B. increase cooling rate. D. to increase effective contact surface.
63. Which of the following is a unit of both mass and thermal diffusivity?
A. ft2/min C. mole/s
B. cm/s D. mole/m2.s
64. In constant-pressure filtration the filtration rate
A. remains constant. C. increases with time.
B. decreases with time. D. is zero.
65. Which of the following equations cannot be used to describe fluid flow (i.e. filtrate flow) in filtration?
A. Ruth’s equation C. Kozeny-Carman equation
B. Bernoulli’s equation D. Ergun equation
For problems 66-67:
A mixed fertilizer, rated 10-20-20, is produced by mixing NH4NO3, KCl and H3PO4.
66. What is the amount of KCl in 250 kg of this fertilizer mixture?
A. 31.68 kg C. 85.12 kg
B. 79.20 kg D. 99.06 kg
67. What is the weight % of the filler materials in the mixture?
A. 17.12% C. 25.26%
B. 21.18% D. 27.96%
68. According to Kick’s law, the amount of energy required to crush a given quantity of material to a specified fraction
of its original size is
A. the same regardless the original size. C. directly proportional to the square of the original
size.
B. directly proportional to the original size. D. inversely proportional to the original size.
69. Of the following equations applied in size reduction, which one is generally applied, for better approximations of
energy requirement, to fine particles?
A. Bond’s law C. Rittinger’s law
B. Kick’s law D. All of these
70. If sodium chloride solution, at a temperature of 40°C, has a concentration of 50% when the solubility of sodium
chloride at this temperature is 36.6 g / 100 g water, calculate the quantity of sodium chloride crystals that will form,
per 100 g water, once crystallization has been started.
A. 51.8 g C. 63.4 g
B. 55.5 g D. 66.6 g