ChE 201 ChE Fundamentals Example Problem Lecture 22 10-15-12 A fresh feed stream containing 5.

5.0 mol% inert gas and 5.0 percent excess nitrogen, with the remainder comprised of hydrogen, is fed to a system to produce ammonia according to the reaction:
N 2 3H 2 2 NH 3

The single-pass conversion in the reactor is 15 % (moles H2 reacted per mole of H2 fed to the reactor). The gas leaving the reactor goes to a condenser where all the ammonia is recovered. The gas stream leaving the condenser is recycled back into the reactor. In addition, a purge stream is drawn from the recycle line. It is desired to have an overall hydrogen conversion of 80%. Determine: a) b) c) d) The recycle to fresh feed ratio. The purge to recycle ratio. The conversion of nitrogen. What role does the purge stream play?