UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN KIMIA

PROCESS SIMULATION LABORATORY (CPE613)
NAME

: MUHAMMAD AZIZI BIN MOHD ZULKIFLI

STUDENT ID.

: 2014248582

GROUP

: EH2415A

EXPERIMENT

:PRODUCTION OF ACETIC ANHYDRIDE

DATE PERFORMED

: 4TH NOVEMBER 2016

SEMESTER

:5

PROGRAM

: EH241

SUBMIT TO

: DR. SITI SHAWALLIAH BINTI IDRIS

No.

Title

1
2
3
4

Procedure
Process Flow Diagram(PFD)
Workbook
Questions & Discussion
TOTAL MARKS

Remarks:
Checked by :
--------------------------(
)
Date :

Allocated Marks (%)

5
5
5
5
100

Marks

Objectives:
1. To install and converge a plug flow reactor
2. To simulate a process involving reaction
Process:
One of the routes to produce acetic anhydride is by the vapour phase cracking of
acetone to produce ketene and methane:
C 2 H 6 O C 2 H 2 O + CH 4

This reaction is first order with respect to acetone. The feed condition is 8000 kg/hr of
acetone at 760 and 150 kPa.
Hint:
1. Use Wilson property package.
2. Qout = 0 W,

P = 50 kPa

3. Assume Length: 30 m

Inner diameter: 0.5 m

4. Kinetics : Forward: A = 8.2 x 1014 , E = 2.85 x 105 kJ/mol

Reverse: A = 0, E = 0
5. The length and inner diameter can be changed to achieve specific goal.

PROCEDURE
1.

Firstly the Aspen HYSYS is opened and new case is chosen.

2.

For the fluid packages, Wilson is chosen as the property package.

3.

All the chemical used in this case which are acetone, ketene and methane is
chosen to be added into the component list.

4.

Then, the condition of the feed stream was set by inserting the data according to
the information in the worksheet:

Mass flowrate

: 8000 kg/hr,

Temperature : 760 0C

Pressure : 150 kPa

Composition of acetone : 1.0000

Composition of ketene and methane is 0.000

The basis for material stream in is mole fraction, but when we want calculate
the amount the basis is mole flow.

5.

PFR-100 was chosen from palette and been connected to the inlet and outlet
streams.

6.

At the summary tab of the plug flow reactor, the data Q out is set as 0W based on
the question while the delta P is 50 kPa. The inner diameter for the plug flow
reactor is 0.5m and the length is 30 m.

7.

At the reaction tab, the stoichiometry for acetone is -1.000, while ketene and
methane is 1.000. The base component chosen is acetone. Before that, kinetic is
chosen for the type of reaction.

8.

At the kinetics tab, the data for forward kinetic is A = 8.2 x 1014 and E = 2.85 x
105 kJ/mol. While the data for reverse kinetic for both A and E is 0.

9.

The simulation is then been run and the data is recorded.

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

WORKBOOK

QUESTION:
What is the volume of PFR to achieve at least 20% conversion of acetone?
The volume of PFR to achieve at least 20% conversion of acetone is 2.304 m 3 .

MANUAL CALCULATION

Inlet : 137.7 kgmole/h

PLUG FLOW REACTOR

Outlet : 165.24 kgmole/h

Acetone = 1.0

Acetone = 0.8

Ketene = 0.0

Ketene = Methane = 0.2

Methane = 0.0

Mole flowrate for acetone in outlet stream:

137.7410 kmol/h (0.8) = 110.1928 kmol/h

Mole flow rate for ketene and methane in outlet stream:

137.7410 kmol/h (0.2) = 27.5482 kmol/h

Total mole flow rate in outlet stream:

110.1928 kmol/h + 27.5482 kmol/h + 27.5482 kmol/h = 165.2892 kmol/h

DISCUSSION
For this experiment, ketene and methane were produced by acetone. The objective of
this experiment is to install and converge a plug flow reactor. Another aim of this
experiment is to simulate a process involving reaction and also to determine the
volume, length, and diameter of the PFR for desired conversion of product.
In this experiment, WILSON property package was used. WILSON equation was
used when in doubt for VLE calculations. Apply Wilson under the assumption that
binary interaction coefficients are available or can be estimated. When performing
simulation that involves LLE, do not use the Wilson equation since the Wilson
equation is not capable of performing LLE calculations. The Wilson equation brought
out the development of NRTL, UNIQUAC and UNIFAC equation in the correlation
of vapor liquid equilibrium data
In this experiment, the desired conversion of acetone is 20%. In order to get the 20%
conversion, the length and diameter are adjusted. When the length and diameter were
adjust, the flow of the feed and stream out of the product will change significantly.
Thus, the conversion can be determine from the flow of the feed and product by using
equation. In this experiment, to get the 20% conversion, the length is 32.60 m and the
diameter of the PFR is 0.3000 m. The result also show the volume of the PFR which
is 2.304 m3. In real situation, to build a PFR reactor, a certain specification shoud be
follow.
A plug flow reactor (PFR) is a type of chemical reactor where the influent is pumped
into the pipe. Chemical reactions occur through the length of the PFR and the reaction
rate is not a constant. A conversion factor is a ratio (or fraction) which represents the
relationship between two different units. A conversion factor is always equal to 1.
As conclusion, a desired conversion of a product can be achieve by adjusting the
length and diameter of the PFR reactor.