Chemical Engineering Principles-I Dr.Ali H.

Abbar

The solvent from the CO2 stripper is pumped to the C2H2 stripper, which removes all the C2H2 as a pure product.

Answers:
1. Assume that the compositions in the figure are mass fractions. Then:

2. 863 lb air/lb S

3. (a) 1.14; (b) 2240 lb; (c) 9.9%.

2.7 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, and the Industrial Application of Material Balances

Introduction
• Recycle is fed back from a downstream unit to an upstream unit, as shown in Figure 12.lc. The stream
containing the recycled material is known as a recycle stream.
• Recycle system is a system that includes one or more recycle streams.
• Because of the relatively high cost of industrial feedstocks, when chemical reactions are involved in a
process, recycle of unused reactants to the reactor can offer significant economic savings for high-volume
processing systems. Heat recovery within a processing unit (energy recycle) reduces the overall energy
consumption of the process.

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Figure 12.1: Figure 12.la shows a single unit with serial flows. Figure 12.b shows multiple units but still with
serial flows. Figure 12.lc shows the addition of recycle.

Recycle without Chemical Reaction

Recycle of material occurs in a variety of processes that do not involve chemical reaction, including
distillation, crystallization, and heating and refrigeration systems.
Examine Figure 12.2. You can write material balances for several different systems, four of which are shown
by dashed lines in Figure 12.2 (Overall balance 1, Mixer balance 2, Process balance 3 & Separator
balance 4).
The fresh feed enters the overall system and the overall or net product is removed.
The total (gross) feed enters the process and the gross product is removed.
In addition, you can make balances (not shown in Figure 12.2) about combinations of subsystems, such as the
process plus the separator (3 plus 4), or the mixing point plus the process (2 plus 3).

Figure 12.2 Process with recycle (the numbers designate possible system boundaries for the material balances).
Example 35
Figure E12.la is a schematic of a process for the production of flake NaOH, which is used in households to clear
plugged drains in the plumbing (e.g., Drano).

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The fresh feed to the process is 10,000 lb/hr of a 40% aqueous NaOH solution. The fresh feed is combined with the
recycled filtrate from the crystallizer, and fed to the evaporator where water is removed to produce a 50% NaOH
solution, which in turn is fed to the crystallizer. The crystallizer produces a filter cake that is 95% NaOH crystals and
5% solution that itself consists of 45% NaOH. The filtrate contains 45% NaOH.
a. You are asked to determine the flow rate of water removed by the evaporator, and the recycle rate for this
process.
b. Assume that the same production rate of NaOH flakes occurs, but the filtrate is not recycled. What would be
the total feed rate of 40% NaOH have to be then? Assume that the product solution from the evaporator still
contains 50% NaOH.
Solution
Open, steady-state process.
a. Basis: 10,000 lb fresh feed (equivalent to 1 hour)
The unknowns are W, G, P, and R.
Overall NaOH balance
(0.4)(10,000) = 0.95 P + (0.45) (0.05) P
P = 4113 lb
Overall H2O balance
(0.6) (10,000) = W+ [(0.55)(0.05)](4113)
W= 5887 lb
(or use the overall total balance 10,000 = 4113 + W)

The total amount of NaOH exiting with P is [(0.95) + (0.45)(0.05)](4113) = 4000 lb

NaOH balance on the crystallizer 0.5 G = 4000 + 0.45 R

H2O balance on the crystallizer 0.5 G = 113 + 0.55 R
(or use the total balance G = R + 4113)
R = 38,870 lb
b. Figure E12.lb.

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The basis is now P = 4113 lb (the same as 1 hour)

The unknowns are now F, W, G, and H.
NaOH balance on the crystallizer
0.5 G = [(0.95) + (0.05) (0.45)] (4113) + 0.45 H
H2O balance on the crystallizer
0.5G = [(0.05) (0.55) (4113)] + 0.55 H
H = 38,870 lb
Overall NaOH balance
0.40 F = 0.45(38,870) + 4000
F = 53,730 lb
Note that without recycle, the feed rate must be 5.37 times larger than with recycle to produce the same
amount of product.

Recycle with Chemical Reaction

The most common application of recycle for systems involving chemical reaction is the recycle of reactants, an
application that is used to increase the overall conversion in a reactor. Figure 12.3 shows a simple example for
the reaction

Figure 12.3 A simple recycle system with chemical reaction.

If you calculate the extent of reaction for the overall process in Figure 12.3 based on B

If you use material balances to calculate the output P of the reactor (on the basis of 1 second) you get A = 900 g mol
B = 100 g mol

And the extent of reaction based on B for the reactor by itself as the system is

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In general, the extent of reaction is the same regardless of whether an overall material balance is used or a material
balance for the reactor is used.

• Two types of conversion when reactions occur:

1. Overall fraction conversion:

mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed - mass (moles) of reactant in the output of the overall process
mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed

2. Single - pass (“once - through”) fraction conversion:

mass (moles) of reactant fed into the reactor - mass (moles) of reactant exiting the reactor
mass (moles) of reactant fed into the reactor

For the simple recycle reactor in Figure 12.3, the overall conversion is

And the single-pass conversion is

When the fresh feed consists of more than one reactant, the conversion can be expressed for a single component,
usually the limiting reactant, or the most important (expensive) reactant.

♦ The overall conversion and the single-pass conversion can be expressed in terms of the extent of reaction, ξ.

Example 36
Cyclohexane (C6H12) can be made by the reaction of benzene (Bz) (C6H6) with hydrogen according to the following
reaction:

For the process shown in Figure El2.2, 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 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 77.26 mol % hydrogen.

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Solution
The process is open and steady state.
Basis = 100 mol (g mol or lb mol) of fresh benzene feed
Excess H 2 = (in – required)/ required (for complete reaction)
In H2 (Feed):

The total fresh feed = 100 + 360 = 460 mol.

From Equation (12.1) for benzene (νBz = - 1)

ξ = 95 reacting moles.

The species overall balances are

The amount of the Bz feed to the reactor is 100 + 0.2274 R, and ξ = 95. Thus, for benzene

and R = 1649 mol

Finally, the ratio of recycle to fresh feed is

Example 37
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 El2.3a, 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

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Solution
The process is an open, steady-state process with a reaction occurring and a recycle.

Figure E12.3b includes all the known and unknown values of the variables using appropriate notation (W
stands for water, G for glucose, and F for fructose).
Note that the recycle stream and product stream have the same composition, and consequently the same
mass symbols are used in the diagram for each stream.

Pick as a basis S = 100 kg

Overall balances
Total: P = S = 100 kg
Consequently,
[P/R = 8.33]

Overall no water is generated or consumed, hence

Water:

Mixing point 1

Or

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Next from the glucose balance

Reactor plus Separator 2

Total: T = 12 + 100 = 112 (a redundant equation)

Check by using Equation 12.2 and the extent of reaction

Example 38
Reactors that involve biological materials (bioreactors) use living organisms to produce a variety of products.
Bioreactors are used for producing ethanol, antibiotics, and proteins for dietary supplements and medical diagnosis.
Figure E12.4 shows a recycle bioreactor in which the overall conversion of the proprietary component in the fresh feed
to product is 100%. The conversion of the proprietary component to product per pass in the reactor is 40%. Determine
the amount of recycle and the mass percent of component in the recycle stream if the product stream contains 90%
product, and the feed to the reactor contains 3 wt % of the component.

Assume that the component and the product have essentially the same molecular weight, and that the waste contains
only water and dead cells.

Solution
Basis = 100 kg of fresh feed (F).
Overall balances
Total balance: 100 = P + W
Component balance: 0.10 (100) = 0.90 P

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P = 11.l kg W = 88.9 kg

The reactor plus the product recovery unit balance

Mixer balance
Component balance: 100 (0.10) + 15 = 0.03 F′ F′ = 833 kg
Total balance: R + 100 = F′ R = 833 – 100 = 733 kg

Bypass and Purge

a. A bypass stream—a stream that skips one or more stages of the process an goes directly to another
downstream stage (Figure 12.4).
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.

Figure 12.4 A process with a bypass stream.

b. A purge stream—a stream bled off from the process to remove an accumulation of inert or unwanted material
that might otherwise build up in the recycle stream (Figure 12.5).

Figure 12.5 A process with a recycle stream with purge.

Example 39
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 E12.5. What
fraction of the butane-free gasoline is passed through the isopentane tower? The process is in the steady state and no
reaction occurs.

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Solution
Basis: 100 kg feed
Overall balances
Total material balance:

Component balance for n-C5 (tie component)

Consequently,

Balance around isopentane tower:

Let x be the kg of butane-free gas going to the isopentane tower, and y be the kg of the n-C5H12 stream leaving the
isopentane tower.

Total material balance:

Component balance for n-C5 x (0.80) = y (d)

Consequently, combining (c) and (d) yields x = 55.5 kg, or the desired fraction is 0.55.

Another approach to this problem is to make a balance at mixing points 1 and 2.

Balance around mixing point 2:

Material into junction = Material out
Total material: (100 – x) + y = 88.9 (e)
Component (iso-C5): (100 –x)(0.20) + 0 = 88.9(0.10) (f)
Solving yields x = 55.5 kg as before

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Example 40
Figure E12.6 illustrates a steady-state process for the production of methanol. All of the compositions are in mole
fractions or percent. The stream flows are in moles.

Note in Figure E12.6 that some CH4 enters the process, but does not participate in the reaction. A purge stream is used
to maintain the CH4 concentration in the exit from the separator at no more than 3.2 mol%, and prevent hydrogen
buildup as well. The once-through conversion of the CO in the reactor is 18%.
Compute the moles of recycle, CH3OH, and purge per mole of feed, and also compute the purge gas composition.
Solution
The mole fraction of the components in the purge stream have been designated as x, y, and z for H2, CO, and CH4,
respectively.
Basis: F = 100 mol
The variables whose values are unknown are x, y, z, E, P, and R.

The implicit mole fraction balance in the recycle stream

The overall element balances are (in moles):

Reactor plus the Separator

Equation (a) can be substituted into Equations (b) through (f), and the resulting five equations solved by successive
substitution or by using a computer program. The resulting values obtained are (in moles)

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Problems

1. How many recycle streams occur in Figure SAT12.1PI?

2. The Hooker Chemical Corporation operates a process in Michigan for the purification of HCl. Figure
SATI2.1P2 shows the flow sheet for the Hooker process. The streams from the bottoms of the five towers are
liquid. The streams from the tops of the towers are gases. HCl is insoluble in the HCB (hexachlorobutadiens).
The various stream compositions are shown in Figure SAT12.1P2.
How many recycle streams are there in the Hooker process?

3. A ball mill grinds plastic to make a very fine powder. Look at Figure SAT12.2P1.

At the present time 10,000 kg of powder are produced per day. You observe that the process (shown by the
solid lines) is inefficient because 20% of the feed is not recovered as powder—it goes to waste.

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You make a proposal (designated by the dashed lines) to recycle the uncollected material back to the feed so
that it can be remilled. You plan to recycle 75% of the 200 kg of uncollected material back to the feed stream.
If the feed costs $1.20/kg, how much money would you save per day while producing 10,000 kg of fine
powder?
4. Sea water is to be desalinized by reverse osmosis using the scheme indicated in Figure SATI2.2P2. Use the
data given in the figure to determine: (a) the rate of waste brine removal (B); (b) the rate of desalinized water
(called potable water) production (P); (c) the fraction of the brine leaving the reverse osmosis cell (which acts
in essence as a separator) that is recycled.

5. A material containing 75% water and 25% solid is fed to a granulator at a rate of 4000 kg/hr. The feed is
premixed in the granulator with recycled product from a dryer, which follows the granulator (to reduce the
water concentration of the overall material fed into the granulator to 50% water, 50% solid). The product that
leaves the dryer is 16.7% water. In the dryer, air is passed over the solid being dried. The air entering the dryer
contains 3% water by weight (mass), and the air leaving the dryer contains 6% water by weight (mass).
a. What is the ratio of the recycle to the feed entering the granulator?
b. What is the rate of air flow to the dryer on a dry basis?
6. Benzene, toluene, and other aromatic compounds can be recovered by solvent extraction with sulfur dioxide
(SO2). Figure SAT12.2P4 is the process schematic. As an example, a catalytic reformate stream containing
70% benzene and 30% nonbenzene material is passed through the countercurrent extractive recovery scheme
shown in Figure SAT12.2P4. 1000 lb of reformate and 3000 lb of SO2 are fed to the system per hour. The
benzene product stream contains 0.15 lb of SO 2 per lb of benzene. The raffinate stream contains all the initially
charged nonbenzene material as well as 0.25 lb of benzene per lb of nonbenzene material. The remaining
component in the raffinate stream is SO2. How many lb of benzene are extracted in the product stream on an
hourly basis? How many lb of raffinate are produced per hour?

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7. A catalytic dehydrogenation process shown in Figure SAT12.3Pl, produces 1, 3 butadiene (C4H6) from pure
normal butane (C4H10). The product stream contains 75 mol/hr of H2 and 13 mol/hr of C4H10 as well as C4H6.
The recycle stream is 30% (mol) C4H10 and 70% (mol) C4H6, and the flow is 24 mol/hr.

(a) What are the feed rate, F, and the product flow rate of C4H6 leaving the process?
(b) What is the single-pass conversion of butane in the process?
8. Pure propane (C 3H8) from El Paso is dehydrogenated catalytically in a continuous process to obtain propylene
(C3H6). All of the hydrogen formed is separated from the reactor exit gas with no loss of hydrocarbon. The
hydrocarbon mixture is then fractionated to give a product stream containing 88 mole % propylene and 12
mole % propane. The other stream, which is 70 mole % propane and 30 mole % propylene, is recycled. The
one-pass conversion in the reactor is 25%, and 1000 kg of fresh propane are fed per hour. Find (a) the kg of
product stream per hour, and (b) the kg of recycle stream per hour.
9. Ethyl ether is made by the dehydration of ethyl alcohol in the presence of sulfuric acid at 140°C:

Figure SAT12.3P3 is a simplified process diagram. If 87% conversion of the alcohol fed to the reactor occurs
per pass in the reactor, calculate: (a) kilograms per hour of fresh feed, and (b) kilograms per hour of recycle.

10. In the famous Haber process (Figure SAT12.4P1) to manufacture ammonia, the reaction is carried out at
pressures of 800 to 1000 atm and at 500 to 600°C using a suitable catalyst. Only a small fraction of the
material entering the reactor reacts on one pass, so recycle is needed. Also, because the nitrogen is obtained
from the air, it contains almost 1% rare gases (chiefly argon) that do not react. The rare gases would continue
to build up in the recycle until their effect on the reaction equilibrium would become adverse. Therefore, a
small purge stream is used.

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The fresh feed of gas composed of 75.16% H2, 24.57% N 2, and 0.27% Ar is mixed with the recycled gas and
enters the reactor with a composition of 79.52% H2. The gas stream leaving the ammonia separator contains
80.0 1% H 2 and no ammonia. The product ammonia contains no dissolved gases. Per 100 moles of fresh feed:
a. How many moles are recycled and purged?
b. What is the percent conversion of hydrogen per pass?

11. Figure SAT12.4P2 shows a simplified process to make ethylene dichloride (C2H4C12). The feed data have
been placed on the figure. Ninety percent conversion of the C2H4 occurs on each pass through the reactor. The
overhead stream from the separator contains 98% of the Cl2 entering the separator, 92% of the entering C2H4,
and 0.1% of the entering C2H4C12. Five percent of the overhead from the separator is purged. Calculate (a) the
flow rate and (b) the composition of the purge stream.

Answers:
1. 2
2. 5
3. $2250
4. (a) 591 lb/hr; (b) 409 lb/hr; (c) 0.55
5. (a) ratio = 3000 kg of recycle/hr and feed = 7000 kg/hr; (b) air = 85,100 kg/hr
6. (a) benzene extracted: P = 625 lb/hr; (b) raffinate produced: R = 3,281 lb/hr
7. (a) mol/hr C4H6 = 37.5 and F = 50.5 mol/hr; (b) 0.65
8. (a) 960 kg/hr; (b) 3659 kg/hr
9. (a) 1570 kg/hr; (b) 243 kg/hr
10. (a) 890 recycled and 3.2 purged; (b) 9.2% conversion (errors can be caused by loss of significant figures)
11. (a) 1.49 mol/hr; (b) Cl2: 0.658; C2H4: 0.338; C2H4C12: 0.0033.

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