CHE425: Problem set #5

1) Run program CASCADES. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your
flash drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt
C:\> appears, type CASCADES and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report
the score and performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER
to exit the DOSBox program.

2) 1A liquid mixture containing 10 mol % n-heptane and 90 mol % n-octane is fed at its
boiling point to the top of a stripping tower at 101.32 kPa. Figure 2 depicts a stripping tower
where the feed stream is the saturated liquid and the distillate stream is the saturated vapor.
There is no reboiler or condenser in a stripping tower. The bottoms are to contain 98 mol %
n-octane. For every 3 mol of feed, 2 mol of vapor is withdrawn as product. Calculate the
composition of the vapor and the number of theoretical plates required. The equilibrium data
are given below

x 0 0.012 0.039 0.067 0.097 0.284

y 0 0.025 0.078 0.131 0.184 0.459

V=D
F

B
Figure 2 Stripping tower with feed F and product D = V.

yD = 0.14
# of equilibrium stages = 3.84557

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Geankoplis, C.J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003, p. 754
3) 2A liquid feed at the boiling point contains 3.3 mol % ethanol and 96.7 mol % water and
enters the top tray of a stripping tower shown in Figure 3.
V, y D
F
xF

L V
x y

S (Steam)
B, x B
Figure 3 Stripping tower and direct steam injection.

Saturated steam is injected directly into liquid in the bottom of the tower. The overhead
vapor which is withdrawn contains 99% of the alcohol in the feed. Assume equimolar
overflow for this problem. Equilibrium data for mole fraction of alcohol are as follows at
101.32 kPa abs pressure.

x 0 0.0080 0.020 0.0296 0.033

y 0 0.0750 0.175 0.250 0.270

(a) For an infinite number of theoretical steps, calculate the minimum moles of steam
needed per mole of feed. (Be sure and plot the q-line)
(b) Using twice the minimum moles of steam, calculate the number of theoretical steps
needed, the composition of the overhead vapor, and the bottoms composition.

Ans. a) Minimum 0.121 mol steam/mol feed

b) # of equilibrium stages = 4.73777

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Geankoplis, C.J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, 2003, p. 754
4. 3(a) For the cascade shown in Figure 4, calculate the composition of streams V4 and L1.
Assume constant molar overflow, atmospheric pressure, saturated liquid and vapor feeds, and
the vapor-liquid equilibrium data given below.

x 0 0.10 0.30 0.50 0.70 0.90 1.000

y 0 0.20 0.50 0.68 0.82 0.94 1.000

Total
condenser

100 moles
V4 LR V4
D
70% alcohol 50 moles
30% water 4
4

3 3

2 2

1 1

100 moles 100 moles

L1 30% alcohol L1 30% alcohol
70% water 70% water
(a) (b)
Figure 4 Vapor-liquid equilibrium cascade.

(b) Given the feed compositions in cascade (a), how many stages would be required to
produce a V4 containing 85% alcohol?
(c) For the configuration in cascade (b), with D = 50 moles what are the composition of D
and L1?
(d) For the configuration in cascade (b), how many stages are required to produce a D of
50% alcohol?

Ans.
a) x5 = 0.700456

3
J. D. Seader and E. J. Henley, Separation Process Principles, Wiley, 1998
b) A vapor stream containing 85% alcohol cannot be obtained (infinite number of stages
required).
c) xD( between 0.3 and 0.95) = .445
y0 = 0.300531, x1 = 0.156062

d) The operating line intersects equilibrium curve infinite number of stage.

5. Determine the overall efficiency of a distillation column used to separate methanol from
water. The average temperature and pressure of the column are 80oC and 1 atm, respectively.
The feed is saturated liquid with mole fraction of methanol equal to 0.40 corresponding to
equilibrium vapor mole fraction of 0.718.

Ans. 0.4986

6. Determine the plate efficiency of a distillation column used to separate methanol from
water. The plate is at 80oC and 1 atm. The cross-sectional area of the column is 0.50 m2. The
vapor volumetric flow rate is 0.95 m3/s. The following data are provided
L (kg/m3) v (kg/m3) L(kg/ms) v(kg/ms) hw (m) Ah (m2)
806 0.826 0.33610-3 10.610-6 5010-3 0.038

Atomic volume of C H O
m3/kmol 0.0148 0.0037 0.0074

Ans. The efficiency of the plate is 67%.

7. A liquid mixture of benzene-toluene is to be distilled in a fractionating tower at 760
mmHg. The feed is saturated liquid with a flow rate of 100 kmol/h, containing 50 mol %
benzene and 50 mol % toluene, and enters at 327.6 K. We want to obtain a distillate
containing 95 mol % benzene and 5 mol % toluene and a bottoms containing 2 mol %
benzene and 98 mol % toluene. The reflux ratio is 2.0. The average heat capacity of the feed
is 159 kJ/kmol and the average latent heat 32,099 kJ/kmol. Use enthalpy balances to
determine the temperatures, flow rates, and composition of the streams entering and leaving
the first two stages of the column (after the condenser).

Physical property data are given in the following Table 11.

Component Tb(oC) Cp(kJ/kmolK) Cpy(kJ/kmolK) (kJ/kmol)
Benzene (A) 80.1 138.2 96.3 30,820
Toluene (B) 110.6 167.5 138.2 33,330

Vapor pressure: Psat (mmHg), T(oC)

log10 PAsat = 6.90565 1211.033/(T + 220.79)

log10 PBsat = 6.95334 1343.943/(T + 219.377)

You need to provide the following information

Stage 1: T1(oC) = __82.57__ Stage 2: T2(oC) = __84.65__

L0(kmol/h) L1(kmol/h) L2(kmol/h) x0 x1 x2

103.2258 102.07 99.73 0.95 0.88104 0.78754
V1(kmol/h) V2(kmol/h) V3(kmol/h) y1 y2 y3
154.8387 153.69 151.34 0.95 0.90420 0.84294
Note: x and y are the mole fraction of benzene.

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Geankoplis, C.J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th edition, Prentice Hall, 2003, p.
736