B47AB2

HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
School of Engineering & Physical Sciences
_______________________

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
_______________________

PROCESS INDUSTRIES B
Course Code: B47AB2

Friday 13th May 2011 14.00-17.00

Location: Sports Hall 2

Information:

Answer Question 1 and FIVE other questions

Candidates are expected to make reasonable assumptions

where necessary

Where a distribution of marks within a question is shown, this should not be

taken to be definitive but is for guidance only
2
 3

Question 1 is compulsory

1. Choose one of the following process industry disasters: Flixborough 1974, Piper
Alpha 1988 or Texas City 2005. Give an overview of your chosen incident and
describe, in detail, the sequence of events that led up to it, explaining as precisely
as possible how it happened.
(15)

For your chosen incident, identify the safety management failures that allowed the
incident to occur. Explain what could have been done to mitigate the damaging
effects of the incident.
(10)

2.

a) 1500 kg/h of water (l) at 104°F and 2250 kg/h ethanol (l) at 68°F are mixed
together and then cooled to 50°F. Assuming negligible heat loss and heat of
mixing, calculate the amount of heat that must be removed from the system.
Give your answer in kW.

C p = A + BT + CT2 + D/T2

Substance A B C D
-2 -6
Ethanol 29.249 16.623 x 10 -49.900 x 10
-3
Water 28.850 12.055 x 10 10.060 x 104

(15)

b) By only considering the first two terms of the C p expression (A and B),
calculate the temperature of the stream before the cooler.
(10)

Cont’d..
 4

3. 10 kg/s of butane is completely combusted in a barbeque fed with 10% excess air
(assume the air is 21 mole% oxygen and 79 mole% nitrogen). Determine:

a) The balanced stoichiometric equation for this reaction.

(2)

b) The flow rate of air required in kg/s.

(5)

c) The composition of the flue gas, in mass%.

(6)

d) Total energy released at standard conditions in MW, using the standard

enthalpies of formation below.

Substance ΔH F ø (kJ/mole)
C 4 H 10(g) -125.6
CO 2(g) -393.5
H 2 O (l) -285.9
H 2 O (g) -241.9

(7)

e) Total energy released at 1000 K in MW.

Substance C p (kJ/mole)
C 4 H 10 16.1 + 0.031T
O2 30.3 + 0.004T
CO 2 26.8 + 0.004T
H2O 28.9 + 0.001T

(5)

Cont’d..
 5

4. Answer ALL parts of this question.

a) In a process carried out at a constant pressure of 10 bar, 50 kg liquid water

at 40°C will be mixed with superheated steam at 250°C to produce saturated
steam. Using steam tables, find the temperature of the saturated steam
product and the quantity of superheated steam that must be fed to the
process.
(11)

b) An air conditioning unit containing a heat exchanger takes warm humid air
and cools it to remove water vapour by condensation. Air enters the unit at
10 m3/s with a temperature of 36°C and a humidity of 0.026 kg/kg.

i) Using the psychrometric chart supplied, find the percentage relative

humidity, dew point and wet-bulb temperature of humid air entering the
unit.
(3)

ii) Using the psychrometric chart, find the temperature to which the air
stream must be cooled to remove 12 kg/min water by condensation.
Explain your reasoning clearly.
(7)

iii) Estimate the heat load on the condenser unit (kW), assuming that heat
losses to the environment are insignificant. The specific heats of air and
water vapour can be taken as approximately 1.05 kJ/kg K and 1.86
kJ/kg K respectively, while latent heat of vaporisation of water at the
condensation temperature can be taken as 2480 kJ/kg.
(4)

Cont’d..
 6

5. Answer ALL parts of this question.

a) Convert the following quantities:

i) Volumetric flow - 7 US gal/min to m3/day.

(3)

ii) Power - 12 BTU/min to kW.

(3)

iii) Speed – 10 mm/sec to miles/day.

(3)

b) Write down the Gibbs phase rule, explaining each of the symbols used
clearly.
(4)

c) What do you understand the term “degrees of freedom” to mean in the

context of the Gibbs phase rule?
(2)

d) Calculate the volume that would be occupied by 60 kg of a gas mixture

consisting of 30 mole % carbon dioxide and 70 mole % water vapour at 1.5
bar and 45°C.
(5)

e) Ammonia vapour at 520 K is cooled and condensed at a constant pressure

of 40 kPa to produce a saturated liquid product. The volumetric flow rate of
vapour entering the condenser is 2 m3/s.

Using the pressure-enthalpy diagram for ammonia supplied, find the heat
load on the condenser.
(5)

Cont’d..
 7

6. Ammonia (NH 3 ) can be made by gas phase reaction of hydrogen (H 2 ) with

nitrogen (N 2 ). Part of a plant for ammonia production is illustrated below:

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Reactor Separator

(5)

(6) (7)

The fresh feed stream (1) consists of 26% nitrogen, 72% hydrogen and 2% argon
on a molar basis. The separator removes liquid ammonia product by condensation
and it may be assumed that complete separation is achieved, so that final product
stream (4) consists solely of ammonia. The gas stream leaving the separator (5)
contains no ammonia but does contain all of the hydrogen, nitrogen and argon
that enter the separator in stream (3). Purge stream (7) contains nitrogen,
hydrogen and argon; it is present to provide some outlet for argon, which is
completely inert under reaction conditions.

The single-pass conversion of hydrogen is 20%, while the overall conversion of

hydrogen in the system is 98%; unreacted hydrogen leaves in purge stream (7).

a) Write a balanced stoichiometric equation for the formation of ammonia from

nitrogen and hydrogen.
(1)

b) Assuming a fresh feed flow rate of 100 kmol/hr, construct a material balance
table showing the molar flow rates of the four chemical species in each of
process streams (1)-(7).
(22)

c) Find the molar recycle ratio.

(2)

Cont’d..
 8

7.

a) State the First Law of Thermodynamics and define the terms given below:

i) State function
ii) Heat capacity
iii) Internal energy
iv) A system
(6)

b) Sensible and latent heat are fundamental properties in thermodynamics and

heat transfer. Explain what you understand by the terms "sensible heat" and
"latent heat".

Starting from a solid, provide an appropriate graphical representation to

illustrate your answer and mark the following points on your diagram:

i) Melting point
ii) Boiling point
iii) Sensible heat to raise temperature to melting point
iv) Sensible heat to raise temperature to boiling point
v) Latent heat of melting
vi) Latent heat of vaporisation
(9)

c) A process that takes 12 kg of benzene liquid from 40°C to a vapour at 260°C

at 1 bar pressure requires 8903 kJ of energy. The boiling point of benzene,
at 1 bar, is 79.7°C, calculate the corresponding heat of vaporisation of
benzene, in kJ/kg.
(10)

C p = A + BT + CT2 + D/T2

Substance A B C
C 6 H 6(l) -6.211 56.502 x10-2 -31.410 x10-5
C 6 H 6(g) -1.713 32.478 x10-2 -11.058 x10-5

END OF PAPER
 HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY
School of Engineering & Physical Sciences
_______________________

Chemical Engineering
_______________________

Process Industries B
Course Code: B47AB2

Wednesday, 9th May 2012 14:00-17:00

Location: James Watt Centre 2

Information Section

Answer QUESTION 1 and FIVE other questions.

Candidates are expected to make reasonable assumptions

where necessary

Where a distribution of marks within a question is shown, this should not be

taken to be definitive but is for guidance only
2
 3

1. This question is compulsory. Answer BOTH PARTS.

a) Discuss one of the following industrial accidents in detail: Flixborough 1974,

Piper Alpha 1988 or Texas City 2005. Your answer should include a
description of the sequence of events leading up to the accident, the safety
management failures that allowed the accident to occur and the lessons that
can be learned to help prevent similar accidents in future.
(16)

b) Briefly describe another industrial accident or incident, possibly but not

necessarily from the list above, that resulted in loss of life, injury or
environmental damage. Explain how the incident happened and highlight
any deficiencies in risk assessment.
(9)

2. Answer BOTH PARTS of this question.

a) A gas mixture is held at a pressure of 150 kPa. The partial pressures of

nitrogen and carbon dioxide in the mixture are 50 and 70 kPa, respectively.
The remaining gas is methane. Calculate the composition of the gas mixture
in mass % and calculate the average molecular mass (gram formula mass)
of the mixture.

Molecular Masses: nitrogen 28 kg/kmol, carbon dioxide 44 kg/kmol and

methane 16 kg/kmol.
(9)

b) 100 kg benzene (C 6 H 6 , molecular mass 78 kg/kmol) is heated from 25°C to

vapour at 90°C. This process happens at constant pressure and converts all
of the liquid to vapour. If the power of the heater is 10 kW and the process
takes 85 minutes, use the following heat capacity data to calculate the latent
heat of vaporisation of benzene at its boiling point (80°C). Assume that there
is no heat or material loss during the process.

C P = A + BT + CT2 (kJ/kmol-K)

For benzene vapour

A = -1.713; B = 32.478E-02; C = -11.058E-05;

For benzene liquid

A = -6.211; B = 56.502E-02; C = -31.410E-05;

(16)

Cont’d..
 4

3. Answer ALL PARTS of this question.

a) Ethanol may be made by the reaction of ethene with steam according to the
equation

C 2 H 4 (g) + H 2 O(g) → C 2 H 5 OH(g)

For this reaction the standard heat of reaction is -45.7 kJ/mol

Using the data given below, determine the standard heat of formation of
ethanol.

Standard heats of combustion:-

Carbon -393.1 kJ/mol

Hydrogen -241.8 kJ/mol
Ethene -1323.0 kJ/mol
(9)

b) An air stream, initially at 41°C and with a relative humidity of 50%, enters an
air conditioning unit at 4 m3/s. The air conditioning unit cools the air stream,
condensing out a proportion of the water vapour present, to produce a cool
air stream saturated with water vapour. The whole process takes place at 1
atm pressure. Using the psychrometric chart supplied:

i) Find the dew point, wet bulb temperature and humidity of the air before
it enters the air conditioning unit.
(3)

ii) Find the temperature to which the air must be cooled to condense out
5.1 kg/min water.
(6)

iii) Find the partial pressure of water in the initial air stream, and the
vapour pressure of water at 41°C. Charts and tables are not needed to
answer this part of the question.
(5)

c) A liquid mixture of hexane, heptane and octane is in equilibrium with a

vapour phase consisting entirely of these compounds. Find the number of
degrees of freedom in this system, explaining your reasoning.
(2)

Cont’d..
 5

4.

Propane burns in air to produce carbon dioxide and water. Write a balanced chemical
reaction equation to describe this.

A tank of volume 12 m3 contains propane held at 4 bara and 25°C. This gas is supplied
to a burner, where ALL of the propane is burnt completely in 50% excess air. The
temperature in the burner is controlled at 250°C. The products are separated and the
steam produced is condensed at atmospheric pressure and cooled to 25°C.

a) Produce a mass balance for this reaction hence calculate the mass %
composition of the product stream.
(9)

b) Calculate the volume of the tank required to hold the carbon dioxide product
at 25°C and atmospheric pressure.
(3)

c) Calculate the total energy given off in the form of heat when the water is
condensed.
(9)

Heat Capacity of liquid water = 4.2 kJ/kg.K

Heat Capacity of water vapour = 0.7553 kJ/kg.K
Latent Heat of Vaporisation of water at 100°C = 2256.9 kJ/kg

d) Calculate the volume of the storage tank required to hold the liquid water.
(4)

Cont’d..
 6

5. Answer ALL PARTS of this question.

a) A distillation column receives a single feed stream consisting of 50% ethanol

and 50% water on a molar basis. Three streams leave the column: a top
product or distillate stream, a bottom product and an intermediate sidestream
that leaves between the feed plate and the top of the column. The total molar
flow of the distillate stream is 40% of that of the feed stream. The ethanol
contents of the distillate, sidestream and bottom product stream are 90 mole
%, 60 mole % and 2 mole % respectively.

Find the flows of the sidestream and bottom product, relative to feed flow.
(6)

b) Answer the following questions using the pressure enthalpy diagram for
ammonia supplied separately.

i) Liquid ammonia at 20 bar and 320 K is throttled isoenthalpically to 1

bar, forming a two-phase mixture. Find the final temperature and the
proportion of the initial ammonia in each of the two phases.
(4)

ii) Ammonia vapour at 480K and 5 bar enters a condenser and is

condensed to obtain saturated liquid ammonia. Find the condenser
heat load, in kW, if the vapour enters with a volumetric flow rate of 8
m3/s. It may be assumed that heat losses to the surroundings are
negligible, as are any changes in potential or kinetic energy.
(5)

c) A gas mixture consists of 25% ethane (C 2 H 6 ) and 75% propane (C 3 H 8 ) on a

mass basis. This mixture flows along a pipe of internal diameter 30 cm at 5
kg/s. Find the linear velocity of the gas, in m/s, if gas temperature and
pressure are 4 bar and 40°C.
(10)

Cont’d..
 7

6. Answer ALL parts of this question

a) Aqueous nitric acid (HNO 3 ) solution of composition 30 wt% and density 1030
kg/m3 is pumped into a reaction vessel at a rate of 200 kg/hr, where it reacts
with an aqueous solution of 40 wt% potassium hydroxide (KOH) entering the
vessel at 300 kg/hr. It may be assumed that the limiting reagent is consumed
completely.

i) Write a balanced chemical reaction equation for this process.

(1)

ii) Complete a mass balance table for this reaction.

(9)

iii) What is the initial molarity of the nitric acid?

(3)

iv) What is the limiting reactant?

(1)

v) What is the output stream composition expressed as a mass fraction?

(3)

vi) What is the volumetric flow rate of water leaving the reactor?
(2)

b) A gas mixture is enclosed in a vessel of volume 2 m3. The gas mixture is

made up of 20 kg CH 4 , 25 kg C 2 H 6 and 36 kg C 3 H 8 , and is stored at 3600
kPa. Calculate the partial pressures of the three components.
(6)

[Atomic Masses: H = 1 kg/kmol, C = 12 kg/kmol, N = 14 kg/kmol, O = 16

kg/kmol, K = 39 kg/kmol]

Cont’d..
 8

7. A small power station generates electricity by heating water in a boiler to generate

5 kg/s saturated steam at 10 bar, which is then superheated to 400°C at this
pressure and expanded through a turbine connected to an electric generator.
Expanded steam leaves the turbine at 1 bar and 130°C and enters a condenser,
where it is condensed by contact with a bank of copper cooling tubes to obtain
liquid water condensate at 75°C and 1 bar. This condensate is recycled back to
the boiler via a pump which raises pressure back to 10 bar. The water flowing
inside the cooling tubes, which does not mix with the condensing steam, is at 5
bar and is fed to the condenser at 25°C and 40 kg/s. It may be assumed that heat
losses to the surroundings are negligible, as are any changes in potential or
kinetic energy.

Using the steam table supplied separately:

a) Find the temperature at which steam leaves the boiler.

(2)

b) Estimate the power output of the electric generator in kW, taking the overall
efficiency of the turbine and generator unit as 80%.
(9)

c) Find the rate at which the condenser removes heat from the condensing
steam, in kJ/s.
(4)

d) Find the temperature at which the coolant water leaves the condenser.
(10)

END OF PAPER
 HERIOT-WATT UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Chemical Engineering

____________________________________________________________________

B47AB2

Process Industries B

Semester 2 – 2012-2013
____________________________________________________________________

Friday, 17 May 2013

Time: 09.30 – 12.30

Duration: 3 hours

Information Section

Answer QUESTION 1 plus FIVE other questions.

Candidates are expected to make reasonable assumptions

where necessary

Where a distribution of marks within a question is shown, this should not be

taken to be definitive but is for guidance only
2 B47AB2
 3 B47AB2

1. Describe two process industry incidents in which communication failure was a

significant contributory factor in a sequence of events leading to death, injury,
environmental damage and/or financial loss. In each case, describe the sequence
of events in detail and identify the safety management failings that allowed the
incident to occur. At least one of your chosen incidents should be Flixborough
1974, Piper Alpha 1988 or Texas City 2005.
(25)

2. 1 kg of a stream consisting of 70 mole % ethanol and 30 mole % water at 70°C is

mixed with 1 kg water at 10°C at a constant pressure of 1 bar. Assuming that
there is no heat or material loss during the process, calculate the final temperature
of the mixture.

C P = A + BT + CT2 (kJ kmol-1 K-1)

Ethanol (l): A = 281.56; B = -1.4350; C = 29.030E-04;

Water (l): A = 72.433; B = 10.393E-03; C = -1.497E-06;

(25)

Cont’d..
 4 B47AB2

3. Answer BOTH PARTS of this question.

a) Most commercial production of acetic acid takes place according to the

following equation

CH 3 OH (g) + CO (g) → CH 3 COOH (g)

Using the data given below, calculate the enthalpy change at 150°C for the
gas phase reaction.

H 2 (g) + ½O 2 (g) → H 2 O (g) ∆H R ∅ = -241.8 kJ mol-1

C(s) + O 2 (g) → CO 2 (g) ∆H R ∅ = -393.5 kJ mol-1
C(s) + O(g) → CO (g) ∆H F ∅ = -110.5 kJ mol-1
CH 3 OH (g) + 1.5O 2 (g) → CO 2 (g) + 2H 2 O(g) ∆H R ∅ = -676.2 kJ mol-1
CH3COOH (g) + 2O 2 (g) → 2CO 2 (g) + 2H 2 O(g) ∆H R ∅ = -809.5 kJ mol-1

C P = A + BT + CT2 + D/ T2 (kJ kmol-1 K-1)

Methanol (g): A = 18.382; B = 1.0156E-01; C = -28.683E-06;

Carbon monoxide (g): A = 28.069; B = 4.631E-03; D = -2.577E+04;

Acetic acid (g): A = 34.564; B = 95.2E-03; C = 1.75E-05;

(15)

b) In the catalytic dehydrogenation of propane (C 3 H 8 ), three reactions take

place:
C3H8 → C3H6 + H2

C 3 H 8 → C 2 H 4 + CH 4

C 3 H 8 + H 2 → C 2 H 6 + CH 4

In the first of these, propane is dehydrogenated to propylene (C 3 H 6 ). A side

reaction leads to the formation of ethylene (C 2 H 4 ) and methane (CH 4 ). Once
hydrogen has formed, a third reaction leading to ethane (C 2 H 6 ) and methane
is also possible. These reactions are often carried out in the presence of
diluent steam to reduce coke formation.

The feed to a propane dehydrogenation reactor consists of propane and

steam only. The flow rates of various components in the product stream are
47 kmol/min propane, 2 kmol/min ethane, 6 kmol/min methane and 38
kmol/min hydrogen; propylene, ethylene and steam are also present.

Find the flow rate of propane in the reactor feed and the percentage
conversion of propane in the reactor.
(10)
Cont’d..
 5 B47AB2

4. A continuous distillation column is fed with a mixture of 80% acetone (C 3 H 6 O) and

20% water at 2000 kg h-1. The two product streams from the column have the
following compositions:

Top product = 90% acetone, 10% water

Bottom product = 60% acetone, 40% water

All percentages are on a mass basis, and the densities are as follows:

Feed = 764.4 kg m-3

Top product = 734.8 kg m-3
Bottom product = 779.3 kg m-3

Calculate:

a) The mass flow rates of the product streams.

(4)

b) The mole fractions of acetone and water in all three streams.

(6)

c) The volumetric flow rate of all three streams.

(4)

The top product is further separated to yield pure acetone. This is transferred into
a fixed volume holding tank, which contains liquid acetone and acetone vapour in
equilibrium.

d) Use the Gibbs Phase rule to establish how many degrees of freedom the
system has (assume no air in the storage container).
(3)

The acetone within the tank is then heated to ensure complete vaporisation.
Assuming the tank has a volume of 20 m3 and contains 100 kg of acetone vapour
at 120°C,

e) Calculate the pressure within the tank, assuming ideal gas behaviour.
(8)

(Universal gas constant R = 8.314 x 10-5 bar m3 mol-1 K-1)

Cont’d..
 6 B47AB2

5. Answer ALL PARTS of this question.

a) Liquid water, initially at 20 bar and 210°C and with a flow rate of 10 kg/s,
passes through a throttle valve and enters a flash drum, as illustrated below.
The flash drum is at 5 bar and some of the water vaporises as pressure
drops across the valve.

Saturated
Vapour

Liquid
Water

Saturated
Liquid

Use the steam table provided to find the temperature in the drum and the
flow rates of the saturated liquid and vapour product streams.
(14)

b) It is intended to dehumidify an air stream by cooling it to condense out some

of the water vapour present. The air stream has an initial temperature of
46°C, a relative humidity of 40% and a volumetric flow rate of 12,000 m3/h.
The whole process takes place at 1 atm pressure. Using the psychrometric
chart supplied:

i) Find the dew point, the wet-bulb temperature and the humidity of the air
stream at the start of the process.
(3)

ii) Find the temperature to which the air stream must be cooled to
condense out 80% of the water vapour present.
(4)

iii) Find the rate at which liquid condensate is formed, in kg/h.

(4)

Cont’d..
 7 B47AB2

6.

a) Ammonia vapour at 600K and 2 bar enters a partial condenser, which cools
the ammonia until some of it condenses. The ammonia vapour flow rate is 4
kg/s and the condenser removes 5 MJ/s. Using the pressure-enthalpy
diagram for ammonia supplied:

i) Find the initial volumetric flow rate of the ammonia vapour.

(2)

ii) Find the temperature of the condensate.

(2)

iii) Find the mass flow rate of the condensate.

(5)

b) A sample of coal has the following mass % composition:

C H O N S Ash
78.2 5.3 7.9 1.9 0.8 5.9

This coal is burned with 30% excess air. All of the carbon reacts, with 97% of
it forming carbon dioxide and the remaining 3% forming carbon monoxide. It
may be assumed that nitrogen is inert, that hydrogen and sulphur react
completely to form water and sulphur dioxide respectively, and that air
consists of 21 mole % oxygen and 79 mole % nitrogen.

Atomic masses (kg/kmol): C - 12, H - 1, O - 16, N - 14, S - 32

Calculate the mole % composition of the flue gas produced.

(16)

Cont’d..
 8 B47AB2

7. Reagents X and Y are reacted together to form product Y. The stoichiometry for
this reaction is:

3X + Y → 2Z

This is the only reaction of any significance that occurs. Single-pass conversions
of X and Y are low, so recycle of reagents is used to achieve higher overall
conversions, as illustrated below:

A B C D
Reactor Separator

The overall conversion of reagent X is 80%. The fresh feed to the process, stream
A, consists of 66% X, 24% Y and 10% inert component I on a molar basis. The
flow rate of I in final product stream D is 25 kmol/h. Of the material entering the
separator in stream C, 4% of the X, 8% of the Y, 80% of the Z and 40% of the
inert component I leave in final product stream D, the remainder being recycled in
stream E. Explaining your reasoning clearly:

a) Construct a material balance table showing the molar flows of X, Y, Z and I

in each of the five process streams.
(20)

b) Calculate the overall percentage conversion of Y.

(1)

c) Calculate the single-pass percentage conversions of X and Y.

(2)

d) Calculate the recycle ratio.

(2)

END OF PAPER