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Recycle, Purge and Bypass

This document discusses key concepts related to recycle, bypass, and purge streams in chemical engineering processes. It provides examples of how to apply material balances to problems involving these stream types. For a recycle system without reaction, the document solves for stream flows using overall and individual unit material balances. For systems with reaction, it relates extent of reaction and conversion. The document also provides examples of calculating bypass fractions and solving for purge stream composition and flows.

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Kunal Agarwal
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750 views31 pages

Recycle, Purge and Bypass

This document discusses key concepts related to recycle, bypass, and purge streams in chemical engineering processes. It provides examples of how to apply material balances to problems involving these stream types. For a recycle system without reaction, the document solves for stream flows using overall and individual unit material balances. For systems with reaction, it relates extent of reaction and conversion. The document also provides examples of calculating bypass fractions and solving for purge stream composition and flows.

Uploaded by

Kunal Agarwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Recycle, Purge and Bypass

Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering


David M. Himmelblau
James B. Riggs
Chapter No. (6th Edition)
Chapter No. 12 (7th Edition)
Chapter No. 6 (8th Edition)
Key objectives
• Understand and draw a flowsheet involving recycle, bypass and purge
• Apply the 10-step procedure to solve the problems involving recycle, purge
and bypass
• Solve problem involving interconnected units
• Use the concept of overall conversion, extent of reaction and single pass
conversion
• Explain the purpose using recycle, bypass and purge stream
Recycle system
Recycle system- without chemical reaction

Typical examples are distillation, crystallization, drying, heating and refrigeration


system.
Recycle system- continuous crystallizer

• The first step in problem is to pick a good system for analysis.


• One can write several material balances for several different systems.
• Observe the figure given below.

• Start solving overall


material balances
• Then solve the MB for
individual units applying
sequential approach
Recycle system- without chemical reaction

A schematic of the process to produce flake NaOH, which is used in households to


clear plugged drains in the plumbing. The fresh feed F to the process is 10,000 lb/hr
of a 40 wt % aqueous NaOH solution. The fresh feed is combined with the recycled
filtrate from crystallizer and fed to the evaporator, where water is removed to
produce a 50 wt % NaOH solution, which is fed to the crystallizer. The crystallizer
produces a filter cake that is composed of 95 NaOH crystals and 5 wt % solution that
itself consist of 45% NaOH. The filtrate contains 45 wt % NaOH.
a. Determine the flowrate of water removed by the evaporator and recycle rate for this
process.
b. If the production rate of NaOH flake remains same, but the filtrate is not recycled.
What would be the flowrate of 40% NaOH solution then. Assume that product
solution from evaporator still contains 50% NaOH.
Recycle system- without chemical reaction

Basis: 10,000 lb fresh feed (equivalent to1 hr)

Unknowns: W, P, G, R. Equations: 2 component balance around system


2 overall component balance
Recycle system- without chemical reaction

Component balance around the subsystems

Mixing point: R plus feed (and compositions) to evaporator (not labeled in


Figure)
Evaporator: W, G, and feed to evaporator
Filter: G, P, and R
Overall: W and P

Make use of overall component balance


Recycle system- without chemical reaction

Overall NaOH balance


(0.4)(10,000) = [0.95+(0.45)(0.05)]P
P = 4113 lb

Overall H2O balance


(0.6)(10,000) = W+[(0.55+(0.05)] (4113)
W = 5887 lb

The total amount of NaOH exiting with P is


[(0.95) + (0.45)(0.05)](4113) = 4000 lb
Recycle system- without chemical reaction

What is the flowrate of stream R?


I can make a balance around mixing point or crystallizer.
Let's consider crystallizer as the value of P is knows, so only two unknowns (G and R)

NaOH balance on crystallizer


0.5 G = 4000 + 0.45 R
W = 5887 lb

H2O balance on crystallizer


0.5 G = 113 + 0.55 R
R = 38,870 lb
Without recycle system- crystallization of NaOH

• No recycle
• Production and composition of P remains same
• Calculate feed rate of 40% NaOH solution

• Make NaOH balance on crystallizer


• Make H2O balance on crystallizer
• Take overall NaOH balance on entire system
• F = 53,750 lb and H = 38,870 lb
Without recycle system- crystallization of NaOH

• Make NaOH balance on crystallizer


• Make H2O balance on crystallizer
• Take overall NaOH balance on entire system
• F = 53,750 lb and H = 38,870 lb
Recycle with Chemical Reaction
Recycle with reaction
A simple recycle system with chemical reaction = A→ B

Extent of reaction (base on B) for overall process

Extent of reaction (based on B) for reactor

Extent of reaction is same regardless of overall MB or MB for reactor


Recycle with reaction
Two types of conversion commonly used: Overall fractional conversion
(fOA) and single pass (once through) conversion(fSP)
Recycle with reaction
A simple recycle system with chemical reaction = A→ 2B

When the fresh feed (FF) consists of more than one reactant, the conversion can be
expressed for a defined single component, usually the limiting reactant, or the most
important (expensive) reactant.
Recycle with reaction
Relationship between conversion (f) and extent of reaction ()

Equate above two equations to get


Recycle with reaction
Example 1.
Cyclohexane (C6H12) can be made by the reaction of benzene with hydrogen
according to the following reaction:
C6H6 + 3H2 → C6H12
For the process shown in Figure, determine the ratio of the recycle stream to the
fresh feed stream if the overall conversion of benzene is 95% and the single-pass
conversion through the reactor is 20%. Assume that 20% excess hydrogen is used in
the fresh feed, and that the composition of the recycle stream is 22.74 mol %
benzene and 78.26 mol % hydrogen.
Recycle with reaction
Solution:

In feed the H2 is 20% extra

Total fresh feed = 100 + 360 = 460 mol

The overall conversion of benzene is 95 %..hence used relation between f and 

 = 95

Calculate the unknown variables


Recycle with reaction
Solution:

Make use of conversion given for single pass (20%) to get R.

R = 1649 mol

The ratio of recycle to fresh feed


Recycle with reaction
Example 2.
Immobilized glucose isomerase is used as a catalyst in producing fructose from
glucose in a fixed bed reactor (water is the solvent). For the system shown in Figure,
what percent conversion of glucose results on one pass through the reactor when the
ratio of the exit stream to the recycle stream in mass units is equal to 8.33?
The reaction is
C6H22O11 → C6H22O11
Glucose → Fructose
Bypass and Purge
Bypass and Purge
A bypass stream—one that skips one or more stages of the process and goes directly
to another downstream stage

A bypass stream can be used to control the composition of a final exit stream from a
unit by mixing the bypass stream and the unit exit stream in suitable proportions to
obtain the desired final composition.
Bypass and Purge
A purge stream—a stream bled off from the process to remove an accumulation of
inerts or unwanted material that might otherwise build up in the recycle stream with
time of operation

Calculations for processes involving bypass and purge streams introduce no new
principles or techniques beyond those presented so far.
Bypass example
In the feedstock preparation section of a plant manufacturing natural gasoline,
isopentane is removed from butane-free gasoline. Assume for purposes of
simplification that the process and components are as shown in Figure. What
fraction of the butane-free gasoline is passed through the isopentane tower?
The process is in the steady state and no reaction occurs
Purge example
Considerable interest exists in the conversion of coal into more convenient liquid products
(CTL) for subsequent production of chemicals. Two of the main gases that can be generated
under suitable conditions from in situ (in the ground) coal combustion in the presence of
steam (as occurs naturally in the presence of groundwater) are H2 and CO. After cleanup,
these two gases can be combined to yield methanol according to the following equation:
CO + 2H2 → CH3OH
Figure E6.9a illustrates a steady-state, open process for the production of methanol. All of
the compositions are in mole fractions or percent. The stream flows will be in moles.
Purge example
You will note in Figure that some CH4 enters the process. However, the CH4 does
not participate in the reaction. A purge stream is used to maintain the CH4
concentration in the exit stream from the separator going to R and P at no more than
3.2 mol %, and to prevent H2 from accumulating in the system. The once-through
conversion of the CO in the reactor is 18%.
• Compute the moles of recycle, R, the moles of CH3OH, E, and the moles of purge,
P, per 100 moles of feed, and also
• compute the purge gas composition.

Hint:
• As problem is specified in moles, do not make use of overall balance.
• As chemical reaction is involved, make use of element balance.
Purge example
• Basis : 100 mol
• Use x, y and z for mole fraction of H2, CO and CH4 in purge stream
• Variables: x, y, z, E, P, R
• Equations: element balance (3), % conv of CO (1), z = 0.032 (1), x+y+z =1 (1)

• Results
Purge example- Alternate route
• Basis : 100 mol
• Use x, y and z for mole fraction of H2, CO and CH4 in purge stream
• Variables: x, y, z, E, P, R, 
• Equations: z = 0.032
Purge example- Alternate route
• Basis : 100 mol
Purge example- Alternate route
• Basis : 100 mol

x + y + 0.032 = 1

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