MASS BALANCING

WHAT IS MASS BALANCE?

MASS BALANCE (Material balance) is An accounting of all mass in a process, generally a chemical process. An application of the law of conservation of mass which states that, Mass cannot be created nor destroyed

CLASSIFICATION OF PROCESSES
Based on how the process varies with time. 1. STEADY-STATE PROCESS There is no change in the value of all process variables (temperature, pressure, flow rates, heat-transfer rates) except for minor fluctuations about the mean value. Continuous processes may be steady-state. 2. TRANSIENT (UNSTEADY-STATE) PROCESS The values of process variables change with time. Batch and semibatch process are transient by nature. Continuous processes may be transient.

CLASSIFICATION OF PROCESSES (cont.)

Based on how the process was built to operate. 1. BATCH PROCESS No mass crosses system boundaries between the time feed is charged and the time product is removed. Typically used for making small quantities, particularly those products of sporadic manufacture. 2. CONTINUOUS PROCESS Feeds and effluents continuously flow across the system boundary through the duration of the process. Suited for the production of large quantities. 3. SEMI-BATCH PROCESS Any process that is neither batch nor continuous.

TYPES OF BALANCES
DIFFERENTIAL BALANCES Indicate state of various rates occurring in a system at an instant in time. (Mass flow rate) Typically applied to a continuous process. INTEGRAL BALANCES indicate total amounts of a balanced quantity between two instants of time. (Mass) Typical applied to a batch process.

GENERAL MASS BALANCE EQUATION

Consider the following continuous process unit for which methane is a component of both the input and output, but the measured methane inlet and outlet mass flow rates are not the same.

Maybe methane is consumed as a reactant, or generated as a product within the process unit; or accumulating within or leaking from the unit; or the measurements are wrong (though we will assume they are correct).

GENERAL MASS BALANCE EQUATION

INPUT + GENERATION OUTPUT CONCUMPTION = ACCUMULATION
WHERE: INPUT (enters through the system boundaries) GENERATION (produced within system boundaries) OUTPUT (leaves through the system boundaries) CONSUMPTION (consumed within system boundaries) ACCUMULATION (build up within system boundaries)

GENERAL MASS BALANCE EQUATION

Each year, 50,000 people move into a city; 75,000 move out; 22,000 are born; 19,000 die. Perform a balance on the population of the city (system).

input + generation output consumption = accumulation

input: 50,000 people/year generation: 22,000 people/year ouput: 75,000 people/year consumption: 19,000 people/year accumulation: unknown

GENERAL MASS BALANCE EQUATION

Each year, 50,000 people move into a city; 75,000 move out; 22,000 are born; 19,000 die. Perform a balance on the population of the city (system).

input + generation output consumption = accumulation

50,000 P/yr + 22,000 P/yr - 75,000 P/yr - 19,000 P/yr = A A = -22,000 P/yr the citys (system) population is decreasing by 22,000 people each year.

RULES OF MB SIMPLIFICATION
If the balanced quantity is total mass, set generation =0 and consumption = 0 If the balance substance is a nonreactive species, set generation =0 and consumption = 0 If a system is at steady state, set accumulation = 0

PROCEDURE FOR MB CALCULATION

1. Draw and label the process flow chart (block diagram). When labeling, write the values of known streams and assign symbols to unknown stream variables. Use the minimum number possible of symbols. 2. Select a basis of calculation. This is usually the given stream amounts or flow rates, if no given then assume an amount of a stream with known composition. 3. Write material balance equations. Note in here the maximum number of independent equations you can write for each system is equal the number of species in the input and output streams of this system. Also note to first write balances that involve the fewest unknown variables. 4. Solve the equations derived in step 3 for the unknown quantities to be determined.