A solution of ethyl alcohol containing 8.

6% alcohol by weight is fed at the rate of 5000 kg/hr to a continuous fractionating column operating at atmospheric pressure. The distillate which is the desired product contains 95.4% alcohol by weight and the residue from the bottom of the column contains 0.1% alcohol by weight. Calculate the following: i. ii. Calculations: Overall material balance: Feed = Distillate + Residue i.e., F = D + R D + R = 5000 1 Component balance for Alcohol: FxF = DxD + RxR Where x 's are the mole fraction of alcohol in various streams. 0.954 D + 0.001 R = 5000 x 0.086 = 430 2 Equations 1 and 2 contains 2 unknowns D and R, and that can be solved as follows: Multiplying equation 1 by 0.001, 0.001D + 0.001 R = 5 3 subtracting equation 3 from equation 2, 0.953 D = 425 D = 446 kg/hr i.e., Distillate flow rate = 446 kg/hr Therefore, R = 5000 - 446 = 4554 kg/hr i.e., Residue flow rate = 4554 kg/hr Ethanol leaving in the residue (i.e., ethanol lost) = 4554 x 0.001 = 4.554 kg/hr Ethanol entering in the feed = 5000 x 0.086 = 430 kg/hr Percentage loss of ethanol = 100 x (4.554 / 430) = 1.06 the mass flow rates of the distillate and residue in kg/hr, and the percentage loss of alcohol.