CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES

Chemical Engineering Calculations (Additional Problems)

1. The feed to a distillation column consists of 10,000 lb/h of a liquid containing 45% benzene and
55% toluene by mole, at 80°F. This is separated into a distillate of 99% by mole benzene and a
bottoms of 1.5% by mole benzene. The distillate is condensed at 179°F in the condenser. After
condensation, the liquid is cooled in the condenser to 170°F. The ΔH of condensation is 13,180
Btu/lbmole. The bottoms leave at 230°F. The ΔH of vaporization of the bottoms is 13,750
Btu/lbmole. The ratio of reflux returned to the column to the distillate removed is 8.1:1. Heat is
furnished by steam condensing at 270°F. Heat is removed by cooling water which rises in
temperature from 70 to 120°F. In the reboiler the vapor returned to the column is 3.64% by mole
benzene. The heat capacity of all the liquid streams may be assumed to be 38 Btu/lbmole-°F.
Calculate the following.
a. The moles of distillate and bottoms per hour (52.1 lbmole/hr distillate, 64.6 lbmole/hr
bottoms)
b. The moles of reflux and top vapor per hour (422.0 lbmole/hr reflux, 474.1 lbmole/hr top
vapor)
c. The moles of bottom liquid and reboiler vapor per hour (571.6 lbmole/hr bottom liquid,
507.0 lbmole/hr reboiler vapor)
d. The pounds of steam and cooling water per hour (7482 lb/hr steam, 128,220 lb/hr water)
2. An evaporator operating continuously is tested over a 5-hr period. Both the evaporate and the
concentrate streams include integrating, or totalizing, meters from which the total amount of
material which has passed through the meters may be read. The rate of output is controlled so that
a constant composition (equal at all times to the composition in the evaporator proper) is
maintained. The following readings are taken.
Time, hr Input meter, total lb Output meter, total lb
0 145,600 327,400
5 167,300 337,910

The input contains 5%w solids. The concentration within the evaporator and the outlet stream is
10%w. The diameter of the vertical cylindrical evaporator body is 4 ft. The specific gravity of
solutions may be considered 1 for simplicity.
a. How much water is evaporated during the test? (10,850 lb)
b. How much does the level of material within the evaporator change during the test? (5.2 in)
3. In a process for concentrating 1000kg of freshly extracted orange juice containing 12.5 wt% solids,
the juice is strained, yielding 800kg of strained juice and 200kg of pulpy juice. The strained juice
is concentrated in a vacuum evaporator to give an evaporated juice of 58% solids. The 200kg of
pulpy is bypassed around the evaporator and mixed with the evaporated juice in a mixer to improve
the flavor. This final concentrated juice contains 42 wt% solids. Calculate the following.
a. Weight percent of solids in the strained juice (7.1%)
b. The final amount of concentrated juice (297.6 kg)
c. Concentration of solids in the pulpy juice bypassed (34.2%)
4. The table below shows coal analysis and needs to be completed. The analyses were all made on the
same coal, which has been air-dried.
Ultimate Proximate Modified Ultimate
C 78% wt FC 65% wt C
 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES
H 6 Moisture 4 Moisture
O VCM Combined H2O
N 3 Ash Net H
S 2 N+S
Ash 4 Ash
Calculate the %VCM and combined water. (27%, 3.88%)
5. The gases from a sulfur-compound burner have the following analysis: 9.86% SO2, 8.54% O2, and
81.60% N2. After passage of the gases through a catalytic converter, the analysis is 0.605% SO2,
4.50% O2, and 94.95% N2. What percentage of the SO2 entering the converter has been oxidized to
SO3? (96.6%)
6. Two hundred and fifty pounds per hour of 98% wt H2SO4 enters an absorption tower of a contact
sulfuric acid plant. If 20% oleum is produced in this tower, how many pounds per hour of SO2 are
absorbed? (90.3 lb)
7. The waste acid from a nitration operation contains 23% HNO3, 57% H2SO4, and 20% H2O. It is
specified that the concentrated acid product should contain 27% HNO3, 60% H2SO4, and 13% H2O.
If the H2SO4 available contains 7% H2O, and the HNO3 contains 10% H2O, how many pounds of
the latter must be added to produce 1000 lb product? (193.0 lb)
8. A natural gas analyzes 90% CH4 and 10% N2. It is burned under a boiler and the CO2 is scrubbed
out from the flue gases for the production of ice. The analysis of gas leaving the scrubber shows
CO2 1.1%, O2 5%, and N2 93.9%. Calculate the %CO2 absorbed in the scrubber and the % excess
air used. (88.8%, 25.4%)
9. An endothermic reaction is carried out in a jacketed reaction vessel with initial charge of 500 lb
consisting of only reactants. The feed charge temperature is 68°F. The reaction is carried out for 2
hours. Heat is supplied to the reactor by condensing saturated steam at 450°F in the jacket. The
reaction mass absorbs heat at 991 Btu/lb of charge during the reaction and heat losses are 8000
Btu/h of reaction time. At the end of 2 hours, the temperature of reaction mass is 212°F. Under
these conditions, determine the steam usage (lb/batch). (772 lb)
10. In Haber process to manufacture ammonia, a mixture of nitrogen and hydrogen which contains
some argon as impurity is passed through a catalyst at 800 to 1000 atm, and at a temperature from
500 to 600. Ammonia is produced in the reactor is separated from the reaction gases in a separator.
Ammonia-free gases after a small purge to prevent accumulation of argon are returned to the reactor
along with the feed. Product NH3 does not contain any dissolved gases. The compositions of some
streams are indicated in the following figure.

Determine the moles recycled per 100 moles fresh feed and the percent conversion of hydrogen per
pass. (880 moles, 12.23%)

The following pages contain problems from previous batches. Solutions are found in the old video
lectures/recordings and lecture notes (not all problems).
 Day 2 Problems Part A
Chemical Engineering Calculations 1
Single-Unit, Non-Reactive Processes
1. Drying. A dryer is designed to evaporate a constant amount of water every hour. When the
dryer runs using 5 tons of feed per hour, a product weighing 3.4 tons and containing 11.6% water
was produced. If the product must not contain more than 4% water, calculate the amount of feed
required and the amount of product formed.
2. Evaporation. A sodium hydroxide solution is being evaporated from 35.7% wt NaOH to 52.6%
wt. Calculate the weights of evaporate and concentrate produced when 100-lb solution is fed to
the evaporator, assuming the machine is 100% efficient.
3. Filtration. 15,000 lb of slurry of an insoluble material containing 60% water is filtered every
hour. If the final cake contains 25% water, how long will it take to collect 5000 gal of filtrate?
4. Distillation. A mixture containing 20% wt benzene, 50% wt toluene, and 30% xylene is to be
separated into a distillate containing, among others, 1% xylene and a bottoms product containing
1% benzene. Benzene recovery in the distillate is 98%. Determine the composition of the distillate
and the bottoms.
5. Extraction. A mill is extracting sugar from sugar beets and analyzing 48% water, 40% pulp,
and 12% sugar using water as solvent. The residue from the process contains 25% water, 70%
pulp, and 5% sugar. The sugar solution in water (extract) contains 15% sugar. Calculate the
amount of water used for extracting 1000 kg of beets.
6. Crystallization. A salt solution weighing 10,000 kg with 30% wt Na2CO3 is cooled to 293 K.
The salt crystallizes as the decahydrate. What will be the yield of Na2CO3.H2O crystals if the
solubility is 21.5 kg anhydrous Na2CO3/100 kg total water? Do this for the following cases:
a. Assume that no water is evaporated.
b. Assume that 3% of the total weight of the solution is lost by evaporation of water in cooling.
7. Absorption. A gaseous mixture (F) consists of 16 mol% CS2 and 84 mol% air are fed to the
absorption column at a rate of 1000 Ibmole/hr. Most of the CS2 input are absorbed by liquid
benzene (L) which is fed to the top of the column. 1 % of benzene input are evaporated and out
with the exit gas stream which consists of 96 mol% air, 2 mol% CS2 and 2 mol% benzene. The
product liquid stream (P) consists of benzene and CS2. Calculate the mole flow rates of (G), (L)
and (P) and the compositions.
8. Mixing. A continuous mixer mixes NaOH with H2O to produce an aqueous solution of NaOH.
Determine the composition and flow rate of the product if the flow rate of NaOH is 1000 kg/hr, and
the ratio of the flow rate of the H2O to the product solution is 0.9
Multiple-Unit, Non-Reactive Processes
1. In a process for concentrating 1000 kg fresh orange juice containing 12.5 solids, the juice is
strained, yielding 800 g of strained juice and 200 kg pulpy juice. The strained juice is concentrated
in a vacuum evaporator to give an evaporated juice of 58% solids. The 200 kg pulpy juice is
 Day 2 Problems Part A
bypassed around the evaporator and mixed with the evaporated juice in a mixer to improve the
flavor. This final concentrated juice contains 42% solids. Calculate the concentration of solids in
the strained juice, the kg of final concentrated juice, and the concentration of solids in the pulpy
juice bypassed. Ans. 297.6 kg, 7.1%, 34.2%
2. Acetone is used in the manufacture of many chemicals and also as a solvent. In its later role,
many restrictions are placed on the release of acetone vapor to the environment. You are asked
to design an acetone recovery system having the flowsheet illustrated in Figure below. All the
concentrations shown in Figure of both gases and liquids are specified in weight percent to make
the calculations simpler. Calculate A, F, W, B and D per hour. G = 1400 kg/hr.

Ans. 1336.7 kg/hr, 221.05 kg/hr, 157.7 kg/hr, 186.1 kg/hr, 34.91 kg/hr
Single-Unit, Reactive Processes
1. Ten grams each of hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas is fed to a reactor to produce ammonia via
a small-scale Haber process. Determine the following:
a. maximum weight of ammonia produced
b. limiting and excess reactants
c. percent excess
d. extent of reaction
2. Semenov [N. N. Semenov, Some Problems in Chemical Kinetics and Reactivity, Vol. II,
Princeton University Press, Princeton (1959), pp. 39–42] described some of the chemistry of alkyl
chlorides. The two reactions of interest for this example are
 Day 2 Problems Part A
The species recovered after the reaction takes place for some time are listed below.

Assuming that the feed consisted only of Cl2 and C3H6, calculate the following:
a. How much Cl2 and C3H6 were fed to the reactor in gram moles? Ans. 170.1 moles, 680.1
moles
b. What was the limiting reactant? Cl2
c. What was the excess reactant? C3H6
d. What was the fraction conversion of C3H6 to C3H5Cl? 0.043
e. What was the selectivity of C3H5Cl relative to C3H6 Cl2? 0.19
f. What was the yield of C3H5Cl expressed in grams of C3H5Cl to the grams of C3H6 fed to the
reactor? 0.012
g. What was the extent of reaction of Reactions (1) and (2)? 4.6, 24.5
3. The chlorination of methane occurs by the following reaction

CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl

Determine the product composition if the conversion of the limiting reactant is 67%, and the feed
composition in mole percent is 40% CH4, 50% Cl2, and 10% N2.
Ans. See Lecture Notes
4. A bioreactor is a vessel in which biological reactions are carried out involving enzymes,
microorganisms, and/or animal and plant cells. In the anaerobic (in the absence of oxygen)
fermentation of grain, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae digests glucose (C6H12O6) from
plants to form the products ethanol (C2H5OH) and propenoic acid (C2H3CO2H) by the following
overall reactions:

Reaction 1: C6H12O6 → 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

Reaction 2: C6H12O6 → 2C2H3CO2H + 2H2O

In a process, a tank is initially charged with 4000 kg of a 12% solution of glucose in water. After
fermentation, 120 kg of CO2 have been produced and 90 kg of unreacted glucose remain in the
 Day 2 Problems Part A
broth. What are the weight (mass) percents of ethanol and propenoic acid in the broth at the end
of the fermentation process? Assume that none of the glucose is retained by the microorganisms.
Ans. 3.14%, 2.90%
5. Hydrocracking is an important refinery process for converting low-valued heavy hydrocarbons
to more valuable lower-molecular-weight hydrocarbons by exposing the feed to a zeolite catalyst
at high temperature and pressure in the presence of hydrogen. Researchers study the
hydrocracking of pure components, such as octane (C8H18), to understand the behavior of
cracking reactions. In one such experiment, the cracked products had the following composition
in mole percent: 19.5% C3H8, 59.4% C4H10, and 21.1% C5H12. Determine the molar ratio of
hydrogen consumed to octane reacted for this experiment. Ans. 0.99
6. Given the following reactions:
C6H12 + 6H2O --> 6CO + 12H2
C6H12 +H2 --> C6H14
250 mol/hr C6H12 and 800 mol/hr water is fed to a reactor. The selectivity of hydrogen gas
produced over C6H14 is found to be 12.0. Determine product composition.
7. Formaldehyde (CH2O) is produced industrially by the catalytic oxidation of methanol (CH3OH)
by the following reaction:
CH3OH + 1/2O2 --> CH2O + H2O
Unfortunately, under the conditions used to produce formaldehyde at a profitable rate, a
significant portion of the formaldehyde can react with oxygen to produce CO and H2O:
CH2O + 1/2O2 --> CO + H2O
Assume that methanol and twice the stoichiometric amount of air needed for complete oxidation
of the CH3OH are fed to the reactor, that 90% conversion of the methanol results, and that a 75%
yield of formaldehyde occurs (based on the theoretical production of CH2O by Reaction (1)).
Determine the composition of the product gas leaving the reactor.

Multiple-Unit, Reactive Processes

1. For the given process, calculate the amount of fresh C4H10 entering and leaving the system.
Compute the single-pass conversion and overall conversion. C4H10 --> C4H6 + 2H2

C4H10
REACTOR SEPARATOR
75 mol/hr H2
13 mol/hr C4H10
C4H6

Recycle = 24 mol/hr 30% C4H10, 70% C4H6

 Day 2 Problems Part A

2. Considerable interest exists in the conversion of coal into more convenient liquid products 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

Note 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.
Ans. 7.06 mol R/mol F, 0.3125 mol E/mol F, 0.063 mol P/mol E
Chemical Engineering Calculations 2
Combustion of Gaseous and Liquid Fuels
1. For the complete and incomplete combustion of 100 moles of methane per hour using air,
calculate the following:
a. theoretical oxygen required in moles
b. theoretical oxygen required in moles if 70% of methane undergoes incomplete
combustion
c. theoretical air required in moles
d. moles of air fed if in 100% excess
f. % excess air for 300 moles of oxygen fed
Ans. 200 moles, 200 moles, 952.4 moles, 1904.8 moles, 50%
2. 100 moles of fuel with below molar composition undergoes combustion with air.
H2S 6%
H2 5%
C3H8 57%
CO2 2%
C4H10 30%

Calculate the amount of required air in moles.

Ans. 2340.5 moles
3. 16.0 kg of methane undergoes complete combustion with 300 kg of air. Determine the
composition of the flue gas.
Ans. 1 kmol CO2, 2 kmol H2O, 0.17 kmol O2, 8.17 kmol N2
4. A fuel which is 100% C7H8 is burned using 30% excess air. 15% of the carbon in the fuel is
converted to soot. Assuming no CO produced, provide the Orsat analysis in the flue gas.
Ans. 11.08% CO2, 6.98% O2, 81.94% N2
5. A fuel with below molar composition undergoes complete combustion with 50% excess air.
Determine the composition of the flue gas.

CH4 60%
C2H6 20%
CO 5%
O2 5%
N2 10%
 Ans. 7.30% CO2, 21.51% H2O, 5.99% O2, 74.21% N2
6. Ethane is burned in 50% excess air. The conversion is 90%, and 25% of the fuel becomes CO
and 75% is converted to CO2. Determine the composition of the stack gas in dry basis and the
moles of H2O per mole of the dry stack gas.
Ans. 0.113 moles water per mole DSG
7. When a hydrocarbon-based fuel is burned in air, the Orsat analysis of the flue gas is 10.2%
CO2, 1.0% CO, 8.4% O2, and 80.4% N2. What is the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio in the fuel, and the
percent excess air required?
Ans. 0.81, 58.65%
8. C2H4 is burned in air, and the flue gas composition was found to be 20.5% C2H4O, 72.7% N2,
2.3% O2, and 4.5% CO2 in dry basis. Calculate the percent excess air required and the amount
of fuel in lb/h to produce 100,000 tons per year.
Ans. 69.86%, 16,123.5 lb/hr

Combustion of Solid Fuels

1. A sample of 100 lb coal was analyzed as follows.
Proximate Analysis Ultimate Analysis
Moisture -3.2 C – 79.9
VCM -21 H – 4.85
FC – 69.3 S – 0.69
Ash – 6.5 N – 1.3
Ash – 6.5
O – 6.76

Determine the following:

a. weight of carbon in VCM
b. weight of net hydrogen
c. weight of combined moisture
Ans. 10.6 lb, 4.005 lb, 4.405 lb
2. Refer to the data below.
Fuel Refuse
37% VCM 7.4% VCM
40.5% fixed carbon 8.25% fixed carbon
8.9% ash 84.35% ash
If the higher heating value is 14,350 BTU/lb, determine the percent carbon lost in the refuse.
Ans. 2.11%
3. Refer to the data below.

Fuel Refuse
4% moisture 62% moisture
23% VCM 3% VCM
64% fixed carbon 11% fixed carbon
9% ash 24% ash

If the higher heating value is 14,000 BTU/lb, determine the percent carbon lost in the refuse.
Ans. 6.14%

Combustion of Sulfur Fuels and Sulfuric Acid Manufacture

1. For a 100 g sample of 20% oleum, determine the mass of SO3 and H2SO4.
Ans. 20 g SO3, 80 g H2SO4
2. If H2SO4 has a concentration of 104.7%, determine the mass of SO3 and H2SO4.
Ans. 20.89 g, 79.11 g
3. 500 lb/hr sulfur is charged in a burner with 20% excess air. 5% of the sulfur content is converted
to SO3 while 95% is converted to SO2. Determine the composition of the burner gas.
Ans. 14.83 lbmol SO2, 0.78 lbmol SO3, 2.76 lbmol O2, 70.57 lbmol N2
4. Sulfur fuel is charged with air in a burner, and the Orsat analysis of the burner gas is 16.85%
SO2, 3.11% O2, and 80.04% N2. Complete the composition of the burner gas.
Ans. 0.88 moles SO3
5. The charge to a burner is 700 lb per hour, and the composition is 85% FeS2 and 15% gangue.
In the cinder, 1% of the sulfur is found as SO2. The cinder also contains gangue and Fe2O3. Orsat
analysis revealed 10% SO2 and 5% O2. Calculate the volume of the burner gas at 1 atm and 60°F.
Ans. 31,300 cu. ft.
6. 10 pound-moles of SO3 from a converter gas is to be absorbed using a solution containing
80% H2SO4 and 20% water. No traces of SO3 is found in the absorber gas. Determine the
amount of product from the absorption tower if it is found to have (a) 98% H2SO4 and 2% water,
(b) 100% H2SO4, and (c) 105% H2SO4.
Ans. 1884 lbmol, 1698 lbmol, 1362 lbmol
7. SO3 from a converter gas is to be absorbed by 250 lb/h 98% H2SO4 solution. If the product
contains 20% oleum, determine the weight of SO3 absorbed per hour.
Ans. 91.28 lb/hr
8. 100 lb per hour of pyrites containing 90% FeS2 and 10% gangue is charged to a burner. 20%
excess air is to used. The cinder contained gangue and Fe2O3 and no sulfur, while the burner
gas contains only SO2, N2, and O2. 98% of the SO2 is then converted to SO3, and all the SO3
in the converter gas is absorbed by 80%H2SO4 solution. For the production of 100%H2SO4,
determine the following:
a. burner gas analysis
b. converter gas analysis
c. absorber gas analysis
d. pounds product per 24-hour day
Ans. (a) 9.65% SO2, 8.49% O2, 81.86% N2 (b) 9.92% SO3, 0.20% SO2, 0.04% O2, 85.93%
N2 (c) 0.22% SO2, 0.04% O2, 45.39% N2 (d) 5,990 lb/day