PEME1030

PEME 1030 Engineering Sciences 1

Mass Balances I
Professor M. Ghadiri
Institute of Particle Science and Engineering

School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering

Objectives:

• To provide a thorough understanding

of the concepts and techniques for
performing mass balance calculations.

• To provide a basis for all level 2

engineering modules.

2
Outcome:
• Understand concepts and methodology for
performing mass balance calculations.

• Be able to write and solve mass balance

equations for processes (with and ) without
chemical reactions.

• Be able to apply mass balances to

engineering processes.

3
Overview:
Basic texts:

• R.M. Felder & R.W. Rousseau, Elementary Principles of

Chemical Processes, John Wiley & Sons.

• D.M. Himmelblau & J.B. Riggs, Basic Principles and

Calculations in Chemical Engineering, Prentice Hall.

4
What are Mass and Energy Balances?

Engineers deal with


various types of plants
(design, operation and control)
 A plant consists of a sequence of processes/operations
suitable for generating power, converting raw materials into
finished products or processing/conditioning materials.

 Mass and Energy Balances are basically calculations of the

mass and energy flows entering or leaving
processes/operations in a plant.

 These calculations form the foundation part of plant design

and are extremely important.
5
6
Principles of Mass and Energy Balances

•Law of Conservation of Mass

•Law of Conservation of Energy

•Example: A Chemical Plant Flowsheet -

Manufacture of Formaldehyde (20
tonnes per day) 7
8
9
 Units and Dimensions

Dimensions
A dimension is a property
that can be measured, such as length (L), mass
(M), time (t) or temperature (T) - [fundamental
dimensions]
or
calculated by multiplying or dividing other
dimensions, such as
distance L mass M
Velocity   Density   3
time t volume L
Volume  Length  L
3 3 10
Units
• are scales used to quantify dimensions;
• are specific values of dimensions defined by law
or custom;
• can be added, subtracted, multiplied or divided.

Basic Units
Units for the dimensions of length, mass, time,
absolute temperature, electric current, luminous
intensity,

Multiples Units
multiples or fractions of the basic units
(used for convenience e.g. years instead of
seconds, kilometers instead of meters, etc.) 11
Derived Units

a) obtained by multiplying and dividing base or

multiple units (referred to as compound units), e.g.
m2, ft/min, kg/ms
or

b) defined as equivalents of compound units

e.g. 1 lbf = 32.174 lbm ft/s2.

Systems of Units

•SI (Systeme Internationale, mks) -- the "metric"

system commonly used in Europe
•Engineering (American, English, fps) 12
13
Dimensionless Quantities and Groups

A dimensionless quantity can be

• a pure number e.g. 1, 20.3, or
• a combination of variables with no net
dimensions.
e.g. the Reynolds number for pipe flow in fluid
dynamics is defined as,

Re = (length)(length/time)(mass/ length3)
(length x time/mass)

this is known as a dimensionless group.

14
• In engineering one will come across many
dimensionless groups.

• It is important to note that the numerical

value for a dimensionless group is
independent of the units chosen for the
primary quantities, provided the units are
consistent.

• Dimensional Homogeneity ---- every valid

equation must be "dimensionally
homogeneous" --- all additive terms must
have the same dimension.
15
Converting Units
• To convert a quantity in terms of one unit to an
equivalent in new units, multiply by a "conversion
factor" --- a ratio of equivalent quantities

• Tables of conversion factors have been compiled.

• These are easy to use, as long one remembers

that only like units cancel out when divided, unlike
units do not.

• The technique is simply to arrange the conversion

factors such that the unwanted units cancel out.16
17
 Example 1: Convert 20,000 Btu/hr into kW

From the conversion tables,

1 Btu = 1.055 kJ
1 hr = 3600 s

Btu Btu kJ 1 hr kJ
20000  20000 1.055   5.861  5.861kW
hr hr Btu 3600 s s

18
Example 2: Convert 23 lbm.ft/min2 to kg.m/s2

From the conversion tables,

1 lbm = 0.454 kg
1 min = 60 s
1 ft = 0.3048m

2 2
lbm .ft lbm .ft kg m 1   min  4
 23  0.454  0.3048      8.8 10 kg.m s
2
23 
min 2
min 2
lbm ft  60   s 

With practice it is not necessary to write down the

units, and only the numerical conversion factors
are required. 19
Process Variables
• The quantities used to describe a process are
called process variables.
• To design or analyze a process, we need to
know the amounts, compositions, and condition
of materials entering, leaving, and within the
process.
• The process variables of interest to chemical
engineers are:
• Mass and Volume
• Composition
• Pressure
• Temperature 20
Mass and Volume (Density and Specific Volume)

• The density of a substance is the mass per

unit volume of the substance (kg/m3, g/cm3,
lb/ft3, etc).
Mass
Density 
Volume
• The specific volume of a substance is the
volume per unit mass, the reciprocal of the
density.
• The specific gravity(SG) of a substance is the
ratio of the density of the substance to the density
of a reference substance at a specific condition.
 substance
SG 
 ref
21
Example
65 m3/h of liquid benzene (C6H6) is entering
a reactor.
• a) What is the mass flow rate of this
stream in kg/h?
• b) What is the molar flow rate in mol/h?
Mw=78.11 g/,mol
Density=0.879 g/mL

22
Flow Rates
• The rate at which a material is transported
through a process is the flow rate of that
material.
• The flow rate of a process stream may be
expressed as a
mass flow rate, mass per time (kg/s) or
volumetric flow rate, volume per time (m3/s) or
molar flow rate, moles per time (moles/s)
• The mass and volume flow rates are related
through the fluid density:  =m/V

23
Composition
Moles
A gram-mole (mol, gmol) is the amount of a
species whose mass in grams is numerically
the same as its molecular weight.
Carbon Dioxide has a molecular weight of 44, so
1 mol of CO2 contains 44 grams.
This means one can use the molecular weight as
a conversion factor for going from mass to
moles.
Mass in grams
No.of gmols 
Mol.Wt.
24
We also use kilogram- moles (kgmol) and pound-
moles (lbmol, mole). These are defined the same
way but using different mass units. 1 lbmol of CO2
contains 44 lbs.

We use the same conversion factors for moles as

for converting mass units (454 g-mole = 1 lbmole,
etc.).

25
Mass and Mole Fractions and Ratios
Weight basis
• The weight (or mass) fraction of a
component is the weight of that component
expressed as a fraction of the total weight of
the mixture.
• Weight fractions always total 1.0.
• The weight percent of a component is its
weight fraction  100.
• Weight percentages always total 100%, and
are often denoted by the symbol %w/w.
• The weight ratio of one component to
another is the ratio of the weights of the two
26

components.
 Consider a mixture of 720 kg of water, 92
kg ethanol and 60 kg acetic acid.

Wt(kg) Weight %w/w Wt. ratio

frac.
Water 720 0.8257 82.57 12.00
Ethanol 92 0.1055 10.55 1.533
Acetic 60 0.0688 6.88 1.00
acid
Total 872 1.000 100.0 -

27
Volume basis

Wt Density Volume Volume %v/v Volume

(kg) (kg/m3) (m3) fraction ratio
Water 720 1000 0.72 0.8055 80.55 12.59
Ethanol 92 789 0.1166 0.1305 13.05 2.039
Acetic 60 1049 0.0572 0.0640 6.40 1.00
acid
Total 872 - 0.8938 1.000 100.0 -

28
Volume basis

Wt Density Volume Volume %v/v Volume

(kg) (kg/m3) (m3) fraction ratio
Water 720 1000 0.72 0.8055 80.55 12.59
Ethanol 92 789 0.1166 0.1305 13.05 2.039
Acetic 60 1049 0.0572 0.0640 6.40 1.00
acid
Total 872 - 0.8938 1.000 100.0 -

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 Molar basis

Wt Mol. wt. No. of Mol Mol % Mol

(kg) kmols fraction ratio
Water 720 18 40 0.9302 93.02 40
Ethanol 92 46 2 0.0465 4.65 2.0
Acetic 60 60 1 0.0233 2.33 1.0
acid
Total 872 - 43 1.000 100.0 -

30
Example

A mixture of gases has the following

composition by mass:

O2: 16%; CO: 4%; CO2: 17%; N2: 63%

What is the molar composition?

31
The Average Molecular Weight

M   yi M i
1 xi

M Mi
Where yi is the mol fraction and xi is the mass
fraction and Mi is the molecular weight of the ith
32
component.
Example

Calculate the average molecular

weight of air.

33
Example: Conversion between flow rates

A 0.50 molar aqueous solution of

sulfuric acid flows into a process unit
at a rate of 1.25 m3/min. The specific
gravity of the solution is 1.03.

Calculate (i) the mass concentartion

of sulfuric acid; (ii) its mass flow rate;
(iii) its mass fraction.
34
 Pressure
Atmospheric Pressure

The air above the earth‟s surface exerts a

hydrostatic pressure on the surface. This is
“atmospheric pressure” which varies according to
the height of the column.

At sea level the pressure is

lb f
1atm  14.70 2
in
= 760 mm Hg = 101.325
kPa

This value is called the “standard atmosphere”

and is used as a unit of pressure measurement. 35
Pressure Scales

Pressures can be expressed by either absolute

or relative scales.

The absolute scale uses zero as the reference

point and the pressure measured is known as
the absolute pressure.

The relative scale measures the pressure against

the atmospheric pressure taken as the
reference point and the pressure is called the
gauge pressure.

The absolute and relative pressures are related

as:

absolute pressure = gauge pressure +

atmospheric pressure 36
Absolute pressure is denoted either by the letters
„abs‟ or by the letter „a‟.

For example, 14.7 psi absolute is written as 14.7

psia, 1000 mm Hg absolute is written as 1000
mm Hg(abs).

Gauge pressures are denoted either by the word

„gauge‟ or by the letter „g‟.

Therefore 250 psi gauge may also be written as

250 psig.

Pressures below atmospheric pressure are called

“vacuum pressures”.

Vacuum pressure = Atmospheric pressure -

Absolute pressure

Vacuum pressures are usually denoted by the

37
letters „vac‟
 Pressure Conversion
Air is flowing through a duct under a draft
of 40 mm water. The barometer indicates
that the atmospheric pressure is 730 mm
Hg. What is the absolute pressure of the
gas?

38
 Pressure Differences
In measuring the flow of fluids in a
pipeline, a differential manometer is used
to determine the pressure difference
across an orifice plate. The flow rate can
be calibrated with the observed pressure
drop. Calculate the pressure drop across
the orifice.

39
Temperature
The temperature of a substance in a particular
state (solid, liquid or gas) is a measure of the
average kinetic energy possessed by the
substance molecules.

In more simpler terms, one can say the

temperature indicates the ‘hotness’ of a
substance.

Temperature Scales

A defined temperature scale is obtained by

arbitrarily assigning numerical values to two
reproducibly measurable temperatures. For
example, the freezing and boiling point of water at 40
a pressure of 1 atm.
 Summary of Temperature Scales

The The The The

Celsius Kelvin Fahrenheit Rankine
(C) (K) (F) (R) Scale
Scale Scale Scale
o o
C K F R
Boiling point of 100 373 212 672
water
Freezing point 0 273 32 492
of water
Absolute zero -273 0 -460 0

41
Temperature Conversions
 
T K   T oC  273
T R  T F  460
o o

T F  18
o
. T C  32
o

T C  T F  32 18
o o
.

42
Conversion of Temperature Intervals

A degree is both a temperature and a temperature interval.

An interval of 1 Celsius or Kelvin degree therefore contains

1.8 Fahrenheit or Rankine degrees, leading to the
conversion factors:

1.8°F/1°C, 1.8°R/1 K, 1°F/1°R, 1°C/1 K

43
 Temperature Conversion
Consider the interval from 20 ˚F to 80 ˚F.

1. Calculate the equivalent temperatures in

˚C and the interval between them.
2. Calculate directly the interval in ˚C.

44
 Temperature Conversion and
Dimensional Homogeneity
The heat capacity of ammonia, defined as the amount
of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit
mass of ammonia by 1˚ at constant pressure, is, over
a limited range of temperatures, given by the
expression:
 Btu 
C p    0.487  2.29  10 - 4 T F 
 lbm F 

Determine the expression for Cp in (J g-1 ˚C-1) in terms

of T (˚C). 45
 Ideal Gas Mixtures
Consider a mixture of gases occupying a
volume V at a temperature T and total
pressure P. Suppose the mixture consists
of nA, nB, nC,.... moles of gases A, B, C,....
• From the ideal gas law

PV   n A  n B  n C ...RT
(The total pressure is the sum of the partial pressures
46
-
Dalton’s Law)
 Values of the Gas Constant, R

Values used for the universal gas constant with different units
are given below.

8.314 m3.Pa/mol.K 62.36 litre.mm Hg/mol.K 8.314 J/mol.K

0.08314 litre.bar/mol.K 0.7302 ft3.atm/lb mol.oR 1.987 cal/mol.K
0.08206 litre.atm/mol.K 10.73 psia. ft3/lb mol.oR 1.987 Btu/lb mol.oR

47
Combustion gases having the following molar
composition are passed into an evaporator at a
temperature of 200 ˚C and a pressure of 743 mm Hg:
N2: 79.2%; O2: 7.2%; CO2: 13.6%.

Water is evaporated, the gases leaving at a

temperature of 85 ˚C and a pressure of 740 mm Hg
with the following molar composition:
N2: 48.3%; O2: 4.4%; CO2: 8.3%; H2O: 39.0%.
Calculate:
(a) Volume of gases leaving the evaporator per 100
m3 entering.
(b) mass of water evaporated per 100 m3 of gas
entering.
48
 Typical Exam Question
A fully sealed 50 m3 room at atmospheric pressure
and 20°C contains two balloons, one containing
helium and the other containing oxygen. The
balloons have each a volume of 0.5 m3 and have
a gauge pressure of 2 m of water. The balloons
are ruptured and helium and oxygen get mixed
with air in the room.

Determine the mass and mol fractions of the

gaseous species in the room, assuming that air
contains 79% N and 21% O by volume and the
2 2

atmospheric pressure is 100 kPa.

The Universal Gas Constant is 8.314 m Pa 3

mol K .
1 1

49
Atomic molar mass of He is 4 g/mol.
 Material Balance
• The General Material Balance Equation
A material balance is nothing more than an
accounting for material flows and changes in
inventory of material for a system. A balance (or
inventory) on a material in a system (a single
process unit, a collection of units, or an entire
process) may be written in the following general
way for any process/system under consideration
(see Figure 1):
50
Input Generation Output Consumption Accumulation
through + within - through - within = within
the system the system the system the system the system
boundaries boundaries

51
The general balance equation may be written for any
material that enters or leaves any process system; it can
be applied to the total mass of this material or to any
molecular or atomic species involved in the process.

Equation 1 may be applied in different ways according to

the precise definition of 'material' and the way in which
the process is operated.

52
If the balance is applied to the total mass or to the mass of an element entering and
leaving the system, the generation and consumption terms are zero (excluding
nuclear reactions) and the equation becomes

total mass - total mass = accumulation

in out of mass (2)
or
mass of - mass of = accumulation of mass
element i in element i out of element i (3)

When considering quantities (mass or number of moles) of individual molecular

species, material may be produced or consumed by chemical reaction. In the
absence of chemical reactions equations like 2 apply also to the total number of
moles of each molecular species.

53
Processes may be classified as continuous or
batch. Most processes operate with a
continuous feed and form product
continuously. In a batch process, materials
are charged to a vessel and products
withdrawn when the reaction is complete.
Batch operation is usually used for low
volume products, e.g. manufacture of
pharmaceuticals

54
The material balance equation for a batch process must
necessarily include an accumulation term. Continuous
processes are often assumed to operate at steady-
state, i.e. process variables such as flows do not
change with time. There is therefore no accumulation
and the general balance equation becomes
rate of input + rate of generation =
rate of output + rate of consumption (4)
or, for the total mass,
mass flow in = mass flow out (5)
Alternatively, when considering the operation of a
continuous steady-state process for a fixed period of
time, each of the terms in equation 4 may be expressed
simply as a mass or number of moles. Equation 2 thus
becomes
55
total mass in = total mass out
 The Black Box Concept
Frequently, the engineers have to analyse complex
process flow diagrams. As an example: Figure 2.

The large scale complex problems can be broken to

simpler sub-problems for writing balances using the black
box concept. For instance, we can place a black box
around all or any portion of this process and make our
balance. We do not care what happens inside the box,
only what is transferred across the box’s boundaries. If
we are interested in the total process, the box would look
like as in Figure 3. We could place a box around the
intersection of streams A, B, and recycle (Figure 4).
Similarly we can place boxes around the reactor or
absorber.
56
Material Balance Techniques
It is usually helpful to follow a systematic
procedure when tackling material balance
problems. One possibility is outlined below.

1. Draw and label the process flowsheet-

organize information into an easy to understand
form. If possible show problem specifications on
the flowsheet. Label unknowns with algebraic
symbols.

2. Select a basis for the calculation- the basis is

an amount or flowrate of a particular stream or
component in a stream. Other quantities are
determined in terms of the basis. It is usually most
convenient to choose an amount of feed to the
process as a basis. Molar units are preferable if
chemical reactions occur, otherwise the units in
the problem statement (mass or molar) are 57
probably best.
3. Convert units/amounts- as necessary to be
consistent with the basis.

4. Write material balance equations- for each

unit in the process or for the overall process. In
the absence of chemical reactions the number of
independent equations for each balance is equal
to the number of components.

5. Solve equations- for unknown quantities. This

can be difficult, particularly if non-linear equations
are involved. Overall balances usually give
simpler equations. For complex flowsheets
computer methods offer, the only practical
solution.

6. Scale the results- if the basis selected is not

one of the flowrates in the problem specification
58
the results must be scaled appropriately.