1

CHE 480 Practice Questions

A selection of typical exam questions, taken from a variety of past years/exams. There are no solutions
available, but please ask if you have any questions about how to approach the problem. The questions
are broken down into general theme areas, although some may include several themes.
Comprehensive questions covering a number of topics are at the end.


Plate and Packed Towers

1) 10%
An absorption tower is packed with one 30 ft. section of randomly stacked plastic 1.5" Pall rings. During
operation, the pressure drop across the tower (bottom to top) is measured as 105 inches of water. The
operating conditions are such that L/G (
g
/
l
)
1/2
is about 0.1, and C
s
F
p
0.5
v
0.05
is about 1.2.

Comment on these observations, and suggest some design-related reasons for any discrepancies.



2) 25%
A packed column is to be designed for distillation purposes, and needs to contain 50 theoretical stages of
separation. A proprietary structured packing is being considered, and the manufacturer reports that it has
an HETP of 0.3 m, and a packing factor (F
p
) of 280 m
-1
.

Due to some other process constraints, the pressure drop across the packed section must be limited to 3.1
kPa or less (about 12.5 inches of water), during operation at the flowrates given below. The column will
operate at about 110C and 125 kPa.

a) Determine the recommended column diameter for this application.
b) If the column is constructed of stainless steel so that corrosion is minimal, estimate the required
total wall thickness, ignoring any wind or earthquake loading considerations.

Liquid: 45 kg/s, density 899 kg/m
3
, surface tension 35 mN/m (35 dynes/cm), average viscosity 4 cP
Vapour: 12 kg/s, density 0.62 kg/m
3







3) 15%
An air stripping tower is to be designed to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from contaminated ground
water. Thus, 300 USGPM of contaminated water (10C) will be pumped into the top of a packed tower,
while 450 SCFM of air at 35C, 6 psig will be blown into the bottom of the tower to contact the water
counter-currently. The maximum packing height available in the column will be 25 ft. Select a packing
and estimate the tower diameter required for stable operation.





2
4) 25%
A distillation column with sieve plate internals is used in a process for separating the final product.
Recent market conditions have resulted in a reduced demand for product, and it is noticed that the
distillation column operation is having problems meeting the desired recovery and purity specifications.
Using the design and operating information below, determine likely reason(s) for the problem.
Liquid: 692 kmol/hour, 899 kg/m
3
, 49 kg/kmol, 35 mN/m
Vapour: 63 kmol/hour, 0.62 kg/m
3
, 46 kg/kmol
Tray geometry: 1.21 m diameter, weir height and length 50 mm & 0.85 m, downcomer clearance 25 mm,
hole diameter 12 mm, hole area 0.13 m
2
, tray thickness 2.8 mm, tray spacing 450 mm.



5) 15%
An air stripping tower is to be designed to remove traces of gasoline from contaminated ground water.
For this operation, 1,130 L/min of contaminated water will be pumped into the top of a packed tower,
while 0.21 m
3
/sec of air at 35C, 143 kPa will be blown into the bottom of the tower to contact the water
counter-currently. The maximum packing height available in the column will be 7.6 m. Select a packing
and estimate the tower diameter required for stable operation.



6) 30%
An existing cylindrical tower has an inside diameter of 0.5 m and a total height of 9 m, and it is going to
be packed with 25 mm metal Pall rings. It is desired to use it for distillation, and flowsheet simulations
indicate that the L/G ratio needs to be approximately 3.75 (mass flow rate ratio) to achieve the desired
separation.
a) Estimate the actual liquid and gas flow rates (kg/s) that could be reliably achieved in this column.
b) Estimate how many theoretical stages of separation could be expected in this column (not
counting the reboiler or condenser).

Data:
liquid properties: 899 kg/m
3
, 2 cP, 35 dynes/cm
vapour/gas properties: 0.62 kg/m
3

Operating pressure: 195 kPa



7) 30%
An existing tower shell is 3 m wide (internal diameter) and 28 m in total length (i.e. from one head to the
other). A company is interested in installing some sieve trays and performing a benzene-toluene
separation in this tower, at 155 kPa. Using the operating data below, estimate:
a) how many sieve trays could reasonably be installed in this column;
b) how many theoretical stages of separation could be achieved in the column.


Predicted operating conditions on a tray:
Liquid: 45 kg/s, density 899 kg/m
3
, surface tension 35 mN/m (35 dynes/cm)
Vapour: 12 kg/s, density 0.62 kg/m
3

3
Assume that the tray weir length will be 75% of the tower diameter, and ignore downcomer flooding
concerns.




Pressure Vessel Calculations

8) 15%
A pressurized reactor vessel is to be designed to operate at 400 psig, 700F. The reactor volume is to be
about 500 ft
3
, and a length to diameter ratio (L/D) of 3.8 is desired. The fluid properties are such that
typical carbon steel plate will corrode at an estimated rate of 0.019 in/yr, and stainless steel will corrode at
a rate of 0.011 in/yr. The maximum allowable stress values for the carbon and stainless steels are 14,000
and 9150 psi, respectively, at 750F (the design temperature).

If the desired reactor lifetime is 15 years, choose between the two materials, and specify the required
cylinder wall thickness. Ignore the vessel heads and the structural aspects of the design (i.e. wind load,
etc.).



9) 30%
A carbon-steel distillation column has an internal diameter of 2 m, and is 38 m high from end to end. The
walls and heads are of uniform thickness, measured at 11 mm thickness. The internals of the column
have a mass of about 6000 kg, and all welds have been radiographed. The heads are standard ASME
dished heads.

It is proposed to use the column in a new location, where it will operate in an ambient temperature (non-
insulated) process, with non-corrosive fluids.

As a rough check to see if the column is suitable, do the following:
estimate the upper limit for a normal operating pressure that could safely be used in this equipment.
If the column was operating at this pressure, what is the maximum wind speed (km/h) that it could
tolerate without structural failure in its new outdoor location? (If you couldnt find a value in part (a),
assume 500 kPa and continue with this part.)

Data: the density of air is about 1 kg/m
3
. The allowable stress for this grade of carbon steel is 12,000 psi
(at ambient temperatures), and its density is 7800 kg/m
3
.



10) 10%
A heat exchanger design rule of thumb (Notes page 127) suggests that it is better to route a high pressure
fluid through the tubes, rather than the shellside. Test this rule of thumb by determining the maximum
pressure that could be used in a carbon steel 0.75 16 BWG heat exchanger tube. At this same pressure,
how thick would the walls of the carbon steel shell have to be if the fluid was routed shellside instead?
Comment on whether the rule of thumb seems reasonable, and why or why not.



4
Heat Exchanger Calculations

11) 15%
Production rates in a certain plant are to be substantially increased. Temperatures of the process fluids
will not change. Three heat exchangers will require slightly larger heat transfer areas, either by complete
replacement, or by replacement of the plain tubes with low-fin tubes (of the same size). Detailed
calculations, using the Sieder-Tate and other similar correlations, result in estimates for the heat transfer
coefficients inside and outside the tubes (shown below). Given this information, which (if any) of the
three exchangers might perform adequately with new low-fin tubes?


h
i

r
i

h
o

r
o


H.X.1
103
9.71x10
-3

5670
1.76x10
-4


H.X.2
6500
1.53x10
-4

81
1.23x10
-2


H.X.3
4200
2.38x10
-4

3600
2.78x10
-4



Units of h
i
and h
o
are W/(m
2
C). Units of r
i
and r
o
are (m
2
C)/W.
For the plain tubes, the ratio of tube outside/inside areas (A
o
/A
i
) is 1.15.
For finned tubes, the A
o
/A
i
ratio is 2.875. The total outside area of finned tubes is about 2.5 times that of
plain tubes.

The tube wall thickness is 1.65x10
-3
m, with a thermal conductivity of 104 W/(mC).


12) 35%
A contractor of questionable repute has just installed a new heat exchanger in your plant to heat a liquid
stream (similar to kerosene, a "medium organic") from 30C to 125C using saturated 50 psig steam
shellside. The maximum required "kerosene" flow is 145 lb/min, and its heat capacity is about
0.9 BTU/lbF. The steam is supplied by a 2" Sch. 40 pipe, and its flow is controlled with a Fisher 1"
Micro-Form equal percentage control valve.

On start-up, it is discovered that the heat exchanger will not perform the required heating at maximum
"kerosene" flow rates. The heat exchanger was thoroughly cleaned before start-up, so fouling can not be
the problem. The heat exchanger is a small 1-shell and 1-tube pass type, with total area of 175 ft
2
. The
carbon steel tubes used have an outside to inside area ratio of 1.28 (A
o
/A
i
). "Kerosene" pressure drop
across the exchanger is not excessive.

Determine the reason(s) why the heating system is not performing adequately.
This problem requires calculation of control valve pressure drop for steam, which may or may not be
covered in the current term. If not covered, such a question wouldnt be posed.



13) 40%
It is desired to recover heat from a hot stream by using a shell & tube heat exchanger and an available
cold stream that requires heating. The shell should be single-pass, and no phase change is expected to
occur. The stream properties are given below.
Determine a reasonable geometry for this exchanger, which could be used as the starting point for a more
detailed AspenPlus simulation. Include information on stream temperatures, total area, tube geometry,
5
shell diameter, shell and tubing material, LMTD and LMTD correction factor. Be sure to explain why
various selections or decisions are being made.
Hot stream: Liquid, like kerosene, at 1 MPa, flow 25 L/sec, inlet temperature 225C, heat capacity 3800
J/kg C, density 845 kg/m
3
, thermal conductivity 0.16 J/(sec m C)
Cold stream: Liquid, like gas oil, tends to be fouling, at 1.9 MPa, flow 27 L/sec, inlet temperature 45C,
heat capacity 3100 J/kg C, density 910 kg/m
3
, thermal conductivity 0.13 J/(sec m C)

Note: the extent of heat recovery is up to the designer to specify. Of course, it is desirable to capture as
much heat as is practical, by heating the cold stream up to some specified temperature with the hot
stream.



14) 25%
A shell and tube heat exchanger (TEMA type AEL) is to be designed to contact two liquids. The
estimated shell diameter is 955 mm (i.d.), and the tube bundle length is 20 ft. The shell-side fluid has
properties similar to water, and enters the shell normally at 35C, 300 kPa, at a maximum flowrate of 300
L/min. The tube-side fluid (density 800 kg/m
3
, viscosity 9 mPa s, heat of vapourization 1880 kJ/kg)
normally enters at 87C, 725 kPa, at a maximum flowrate of 550 L/min.
a) If the shell is to be constructed of SA387 low alloy steel, estimate the required shell thickness for this
application.
b) It is desired that the heat exchanger shell be protected from overpressure with a rupture disk, in non-
fire situations. Estimate a suitable rupture disk size for this application.



15) 30%
It is desired to recover heat from a hot water stream, available at a temperature of 70C and a pressure of
400 kPa. An amine solution (ethanol amine) at 20C can be heated, and it is available at a pressure of 450
kPa and flowrate 11 kg/sec.

An existing exchanger system is available, where the water would flow through a control valve (Cv = 20
at 100% open) then into the exchanger, that has 54 m
2
of area. The hot water must exit the exchanger at a
pressure of at least 175 kPa in order to reach its final destination. A co-worker has already determined
that the pressure drop of water in the piping and exchanger would be minimal, and it is a true counter-
current exchanger configuration.

Make a rough estimate of the maximum amount of heat that could be recovered (kW) and the final
temperature of the amine solution, under the given conditions.

Physical properties for amine solution: density 1010 kg/m
3
, heat capacity 3.99 kJ/kg K, viscosity 14 cP,
thermal conductivity 0.5 W/m K.



16) 25%
A shell and tube heat exchanger has one shell pass and one tube pass in counter-current flow. Saturated
steam at 150C is being used as the hot fluid, and is condensing in the shell isothermally at a rate of
100 kg/min. The condensate is not sub-cooled. The cold liquid enters the tubes at 20C and is being
6
heated (without phase change), but the flowrate and exit temperature cannot be easily determined due to a
lack of instrumentation. Use the exchanger data (and water properties in the Appendix if necessary) to
estimate the cold liquid exit temperature.

Exchanger area: 85 m
2

Cold liquid: similar to kerosene. Density 930 kg/m
3
, viscosity 5 cP at 20C.





Piping, Pump and Control Valve Problems

17) 5%
Refer to the pump curve for a 1x2-7 pump operating at 3500 RPM (use one from course notes).

One of these pumps (with a 5.5") impeller is being used to pump dirty water (containing about 0.2%
solids by weight). A test of its performance shows that it is pumping at a rate of 50 GPM, with a suction
side pressure of 1 psig, and a discharge pressure of 41.3 psig. Is the pump performance as expected?
Suggest some possible reasons for any problems detected.



18) 20%
Refer to the attached pump curve for a Goulds Model 3700 3x4-16 at 1780 RPM (see end).
A system is being designed to pump a non-corrosive hydrocarbon at a controlled flowrate. Calculations
show that at a design flowrate of 275 gpm, the total system head losses will be 175 ft (which are entirely
due to friction losses, and exclude a control valve). Identify the following (not necessarily in this order):
a) the coefficient (C
v
) of a control valve that would be required to work in this system with this pump;
b) the impeller size that should be selected for this pump;
c) the power required to operate the completed system; and
d) the installed cost of the pump and motor.

Hydrocarbon properties: viscosity 6 cP, density 820 kg/m
3
, vapour pressure 25 kPa (at the operating
temperature), heat of vapourization 323 kJ/kg. The discharge pressure of the pump will be 625 kPa.




19) 35%
A system is to be designed to transfer a fluid from a storage vessel to a higher pressure treatment vessel
(see schematic below). The fluid has the same properties as water at 60F (15C).

Under "normal" operating conditions, the fluid flow rate will be 30 USGPM. A control valve is to be
used to permit level control in the storage vessel. The fluid flows through the tubeside of a heat
exchanger, where the pressure drop is predicted to be 4 psi at these conditions.

On an occasional basis, the fluid flow rate must be increased to 90 USGPM (maximum) for periods
lasting several days.
7

Specify: pipe size (assume carbon steel); control valve size (Fisher); pump information for selection
purposes (TDH, BHP, and NPSH
available
); estimated pump motor size; any other information useful for
cost estimation or final design purposes.

(Note: the schematic is lost, but it would have given details on piping length, fittings, elevations, etc. For
practice, make-up your own schematic and try the problem.)



20) 35%
Some existing equipment in a plant is to be used for transferring a hot heating fluid through three heat
exchangers to a surge drum (see diagram below sorry, no longer available; try making up your own
diagram.). Using the information below, determine whether the transfer system will be suitable, and
determine what impeller and motor size will be required for the existing pump.

The existing piping is 2" Sch. 40S Type 304L stainless steel (lightly rusted/scaled), constructed using
flanges and flanged fittings. The flange rating in all cases is 150 lb. The 800 ft of piping includes: 1
swing check valve; 5 gate valves; 10 flow-thru T's; 4 branch flow T's; and 27 regular elbows.
The existing pump is a Goulds Model 3700, 1 x 2-11 (3550 rpm). It needs a new impeller and motor.

The heating fluid will be at 750F, and at this temperature has the properties: density = 50 lb/ft
3
;
viscosity 9 cP, vapour pressure 9 psi. Ignore the effect of changing temperature on the physical
properties. The maximum required flow rate will be 560 lb/min.



21) 25%
A co-op student has designed a pumping system with the following layout: an open tank, with a liquid
level 3 m above floor level, feeds a 2x4-9 Model 3700 pump (with 9 impeller, operating at 3500 RPM).
The pump will be operated to deliver water at a flow rate of 200 GPM (gallons per minute). The
discharge from this pump feeds a second pump (a 1.5 x 3-13 Model 3700, with 13.25 impeller operating
at 3500 RPM). Both pumps are located on the floor. There is a control valve on the outlet piping from
the second pump, with a CV of 31.9.

a) Determine the following: the pressure (kPa) at the discharge of the first pump; the pressure (kPa) at
the discharge of the second pump; the pressure drop across the control valve; and the total power
required by the system.
b) If the system is to operate at ambient temperatures and be constructed out of Type 304 stainless steel,
recommend the flange rating for the control valve.
c) Comment on the design, and identify whether there are any ways that it might be improved.



22) 25%
A fluid transfer system has the following design: a flowrate of 25 m
3
/hr enters a Goulds 2x4-7N pump
(with a 6 impeller, operating at 3550 rpm) and exits into a 2 Sch. 40 pipe. The pipe has a length of 40
m and contains the following screwed fittings: a swing check valve, 3 globe valves, 12 standard 90
elbows. This pipe then enters a second Goulds pump 1.5x3-9 ( with 8 impeller operating at 1750 rpm).
It is desired to know the discharge pressure at the second pump, but the designers didnt provide any
means to measure it.
8

Estimate the discharge pressure from the second pump (in kPa, absolute).
Is there a single Goulds pump that could have been used in place of the two (if placed at the same location
as the first pump)? If so, are there any advantages to doing so (quantify where possible)?

Data: assume the pumps are located at the same elevation, and that the fluid enters the first pump at a
pressure of 150 kPa (absolute). The fluid properties are the same as water.



23) 30%
A pump (Model 3700 size 4x6-7, operating at 3550 rpm with a 6 impeller) is used to force water through
a control valve (C
v
= 152) and piping system. The pressure at the pump suction is constant at 150 kPa,
and the temperature is 10C. If the piping was broken off just past the control valve, what would be the
estimated maximum flow spilling out (i.e. if the control valve was fully open). Assume that there are no
flow limitations on the pump suction side, and that the friction losses in the short piece of pipe between
the pump and control valve are negligible.

If the control valve is later shut completely, what would be the pressure at the pump discharge if it
continued to operate?



24) 40%
A system is to be designed to pump liquid from a process vessel (#1) operating at 400 kPa and deliver it
to another vessel (#2) operating at 900 kPa, at a volumetric flowrate of 30 m
3
/h. The liquid temperature
will be around 50C, the physical properties are similar to water, and the vapour pressure is negligible.

The liquid level in both vessels is about 5 m above the pump centreline. Piping from vessel #1 to the
pump will have to run about 45 m, and the piping distance to vessel #2 from the pump will be about
200 m. All materials will be carbon steel. Other fittings include:
Suction side: 4 90 elbows; 2 gate valves
Discharge side: 12 90 elbows; 4 gate valves, one control valve.

Determine/specify the following (calculations are not necessarily in the given order):
a) Suction side and discharge side pipe size, schedule number, and flange ratings.
b) Calculate a control valve C
v
that would be used to select a valve size (if a manufacturers
catalogue was available).
c) Select a Goulds centrifugal pump from the catalogue in the course notes (if possible). Identify
the BHP power requirements and motor size/rating (kW) for this pump (even if a Goulds pump
is not available).
d) Determine the available NPSH. Compare it to the required NPSH, if possible.








9

Gas Compression

25) 20%
The dry chlorine gas in the question with the hydrocarbon reactor (Mixing and agitation section below) is
supplied to the plant at a temperature of 20C and a pressure of 800 kPa. It has to be compressed to 2.5
MPa so it can be added to the reactor. It is assumed that a centrifugal compressor can be used for this
purpose.
a) Determine the required number of stages, outlet temperature, required brake horsepower, and motor
power. (note: if you didnt get a solution for the volumetric flow of chlorine in the other question,
use a value of 280 m
3
/hr.)
b) Briefly comment on whether the centrifugal compressor should be suitable.
c) Determine a recommended size of piping for the chlorine gas flow. Also specify the piping material,
schedule number and flange rating.



26) 30%
A screw compressor will be used to supply compressed air at a minimum and maximum rate of 1 and 3
m
3
/s, respectively (measured at discharge conditions), and a pressure of 300 kPa. Ambient air will be
supplied to the compressor (i.e. 101 kPa, 20C).
a) estimate the required motor size to drive this compressor, assuming it will have an adiabatic
efficiency of 75%.
b) If it is desired to have the compressed air delivered with a temperature not exceeding 35C,
estimate the heat exchange area required. Cooling water is available at a temperature of 22C.




Mixing and Agitation Problems

27) 35%
A wastewater stream with a high pH is to be neutralized with concentrated sulfuric acid in a mixed tank.
The wastewater flow rate is about 1x10
6
L/day. The senior engineering staff suggest that a CSTR
(continuous stirred-tank reactor) with an average residence time of about 2 minutes should be suitable for
the neutralization reaction. Design a mixed tank system suitable for this purpose. The final specifications
should include: dimensions, material of construction, impeller type and size, and power requirements.
The wastewater properties can be considered to be the same as those of water at 15C.



28) 25%
An agitated tank is to be used for dissolving oxygen into a liquid medium where a reaction will take
place. An existing baffled tank is under consideration, and it has the following specifications: 1.95 m
diameter, 4.5 m total height (but the ungassed liquid height is 2.5 m), impeller diameter 0.76 m, impeller
speed 90 RPM. The impeller is a standard Rushton turbine. Pure oxygen will be supplied at a rate such
that the superficial gas velocity is 3 cm/s.
10
a) Determine the maximum oxygen transfer rate in this system, given the physical properties shown
below. Identify substantial deficiencies in this design, if there are any.
Liquid density 790 kg/m
3
, viscosity 78 mPa s, oxygen solubility 85 g/m
3
, surface tension 71 dynes/cm,
heat capacity 2.1 kJ/kg C.
Operating temperature and pressure: 65C and 400 kPa.



29) 25%
An agitated tank is being used to blend several miscible liquid reagents in a batch process. The tank is 2
m in diameter, with a liquid height of 3 m. A Rushton turbine agitator is being used at a rotational speed
of 100 rpm (diameter 0.9 m, six blade, D
a
/W
i
= 5).

During the last batch, the agitator assembly was damaged and had to be removed. A replacement is not
available yet, but another batch is needed immediately by a client. The maintenance shop can install a
propeller mixer (diameter 0.3 m, pitch = D
a
) with a variable speed motor for temporary use. Estimate
what mixer speed would be required to maintain similar blending performance as the Rushton turbine was
able to achieve. Comment on whether the temporary replacement seems feasible or not, from a process
perspective.

Blended fluid properties: viscosity 10 cP, density 1090 kg/m
3
, average molar mass 112 g/mole, surface
tension 80 dynes/cm.




Comprehensive Problems
Questions that include several different parts of the course topics.

30) 100% (a single question mid-term problem)
A steam condensate collection system is to be retro-fitted to an existing process unit, so that the liquid
condensate can be pumped back to the utility plant for re-use in steam generation. The process unit is located
outdoors in the Canadian prairies, and handles petrochemical products. Given the details below, specify the
sizes and types of equipment and piping that will be required, so that more detailed cost estimation and
project engineering may commence.

The steam condensate is a saturated liquid at atmospheric pressure, with a maximum flow rate of
200 USGPM and a minimum rate of 90 USGPM. The condensate will be pumped back to a 5 m high storage
tank at the utility plant, a piping distance of about 1200 m. The utility plant is built on ground which is about
2.5 m above that of your process unit. An orifice flowmeter is to be installed on the return line for in-plant
accounting purposes.

At your process unit, the condensate is collected in a drum (vented to the atmosphere) which will have a
liquid level maintained about 1.2 m above the pump centreline. The company's pump specialist is concerned
that there will not be enough NPSH given this geometry. The drum cannot be raised, nor the pump lowered,
but the condensate can be pre-cooled before entering the collection drum using an existing double-pipe heat
exchanger. Cooling water is available at a maximum temperature of 28C, and it is company policy to limit
cooling water exit temperatures to less than 40C. The double-pipe heat exchanger is a standard size with a
4"OD Sch. 40 shell, 1.900"OD bare inner pipe (.145" thick), 25 ft long, with 25.9 ft
2
of heat transfer surface.

11

Specify/Determine

a) piping sizes, schedules, suggested material, construction (flanged, screwed, welded, etc)

b) a pump (you're limited to the choices in the course notes), its BHP, an approximate motor size and
motor enclosure.

c) whether the NPSH is adequate. If the cooling is required, determine whether the existing exchanger
should be looked at more closely (i.e. detailed calculations, mechanical inspection, etc), or whether a
new one must be purchased anyway. Are there any other process constraints which need to be
considered regarding the condensate pre-cooling idea?

d) a control valve size to be used for the condensate drum level control.






31) Value 100% (a single question mid-term problem)
Many regions in North America have groundwater contaminated with organic solvents such as TCE
(trichloroethylene). One approach to remediating this water is to pump it to the surface and removing the
TCE by air-stripping before pumping it back into the ground. Unfortunately, this simply moves the
contamination from the groundwater into the air, but that is another issue.

You are asked to help design an air-stripping system to be used in groundwater remediation in Southern
Ontario. A pump will be used to pull water (at 10C) from a well where the water table is 18 ft below grade.
The pumping rate will be 300 USGPM, and the well would be about 5 m from the air-stripping tower. The
contaminated water is to be pumped to the top of a packed tower, 9 m high, where it is sprayed onto the
packing. The tower top pressure will be about 5 psig, and the spray nozzle pressure drop is estimated to be
about 10 psi. An orifice meter and flow control valve will be required for operating considerations.

To accomplish the air-stripping, a counter-current air stream of 450 SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute)
must be supplied to the bottom of the tower at a pressure of 12 psig. To prevent ice build-up in the winter, it
may be desirable to preheat the air to at least 10C before it enters the tower. There will be 200 kPa
(absolute) saturated steam available for this purpose.

Specify/Determine

a) piping sizes, schedules, suggested material, construction (flanged, screwed, welded, etc)

b) a pump (you're limited to the choices in the course notes), its BHP, an approximate motor size and
motor enclosure.

c) a compressor type, BHP, number of stages, etc.

d) a rough heat exchanger area, type, fluid routing

e) a control valve size for the water line.


12

32) 30%
Ethylene gas is supplied from a pipeline at 20C and 350 kPa, and is to be compressed and fed to a
reactor that operates at 1500 kPa and 250C. The gas will flow at a rate of 2.8 kg/s through 4 inch
nominal pipe, for a total piping distance of 300 m, through 11 90 elbows and 4 gate valves.

Check or calculate the following (not necessarily in this order):
a) the requirements for a centrifugal compressor for this application (i.e. number of stages and motor
power required). Note if intercooling may be required, but do not include its effects in the calculations.;

b) the pipe schedule and flange ratings for the compressor discharge piping.

c) from the results above, estimate the amount of heat exchange area required if the compressed ethylene
was to be supplied to the reactor at 250C. Available utilities for this service are cooling water at 25C,
and saturated steam at 275C.

d) if compressor intercooling was to be included in the above calculations, what effect would this have on
the results? Discuss only, do not perform the calculations.

In your answers to the above, be sure to comment on any aspects of the design that could be improved or
optimized.

Ethylene properties: C
2
H
4
molar mass 28.1, viscosity approx. 9.5x10
-3
cP, heat capacity approx. 0.7
J/mol K











13

33) 40%
A liquid hydrocarbon is to be reacted with gaseous chlorine (Cl
2
molar mass 70.9) in batches of 25 m
3
of
liquid, in a stirred pressure vessel with a height to diameter ratio of about 3. The chlorine is added at a
flow rate such that the superficial velocity in the vessel is 1 cm/s. The liquid has a density of 890 kg/m
3
,
and a viscosity of 15 mPa s, and the normal operating conditions are at 75C and 2 MPa. Because HCl is
generated during the reaction, glass-lined carbon steel must be used for the vessel.
a) Specify the vessel geometry, including the height, diameter, impeller type, impeller diameter, and
rotational speed.
b) Estimate the required steel wall thickness for the vessel. Also estimate the vessel head thickness.
c) The reaction is exothermic, and the heat of reaction must be removed to maintain the temperature at
75C, using cooling water supplied at 18C. The average rate of heat generation is about 200 kW/m
3

of liquid volume. Use some rough heat transfer calculations to estimate if a jacket around the outside
of the vessel walls would provide sufficient cooling capacity for this reactor, as illustrated below.
The thermal conductivity of carbon steel is around 45 W/mC, while that for glass is about 1 W/mC.
The thickness of the glass lining will be about 5 mm.
















Cooling Water
Cooling Water
14
Appendix
The following information was not in the course notes, but was used during some tutorial problems. It
may, or may not, be relevant to this exam.

Control valve for liquid service:
P
G
Q =
Cv
A
where Q is in USGPM, P is in psi, and G is the
liquid specific gravity (ratio of density of fluid to density of water). Thus in North America, C
v
values
always have the units gallons/(min psi
0.5
)

Rupture Disk Sizing:
Liquid velocity through a sharp-edged orifice is given by:
L
c
P g
v

A
=
2
61 . 0
where g
c
is 32.2 (lb
m
ft)/(lb
f
sec
2
). In SI g
c
is ignored (=1).

Mass flow of vapour (ideal gas) through an orifice at critical flow conditions (maximum possible) is given
by:
1
1
max
1
2

+
|
|
.
|

\
|
+
=

P g A C m
v c o
where = C
p
/C
v
, C
o
= 1.0 for a gas at a high flow rate, A is area of
the flow, P
max
is the maximum absolute pressure.

The wetted surface area of a horizontal cylinder is given by:
(

|
.
|

\
|
= 1
2
arccos
D
H
DL A
cyl
t

where D is the cylinder diameter, L is the length, H is the height of liquid. (Make sure your calculator is
working in radians.). The wetted surface area of a sphere of diameter D filled to height H is tDH.

According to NFPA Standard 30 Flammable Liquids Code, the heat transfer rate to the contents of a
process vessel is given by q = 21000 A
0.82
where q is in BTU/hr, A is the surface area of the tank
wetted by the liquid contents (ft
2
).


Ratio of slurry viscosity to liquid phase viscosity:
( )
4
1 5 . 0 1
c
c

+
=
s
where c is the void fraction.

Properties of water (approx): density 1000 kg/m
3
, viscosity 1 cP (= 1 mPa s), surface tension 57
dyne/cm (= 57 mN/m), heat of vapourization 2440 kJ/kg, heat capacity 4.2 kJ/kg K, thermal
conductivity 0.64 W/m K

Ideal gas law: PV = nRT R = 8.314 J/mol K. Values of R in other units are in the Notes page 9.
Acceleration due to gravity (g) is 9.8 m/s
2
.
Molecular weight of air: 29 g/mole
Kinematic viscosity = dynamic viscosity/density



15