ChE 128, Fall 2014

Homework 6
Due in class on Wednesday, December 3

Prof. S. Scott

If you miss handing your work in during class, you may put it in the TA mailbox. A
late penalty of 25% will be assessed. No late assignments will be accepted after
Friday, December 5, at 9 am.

1. An ethanol-water mixture will be separated by batch distillation at P = 1 atm,

using a column with 10 equilibrium stages and a total condenser. The charge
to the still pot is 500 kg of a solution that contains 12 mol% EtOH. The
distillation will be conducted at a constant external reflux ratio of 0.75 until
the still pot contains 1 mol% EtOH. Find the amount of distillate and its EtOH
concentration.
Equilibrium data:
xE
yE
xE
yE

0
0
0.3273
0.5826

0.019
0.170
0.3965
0.6122

0.0721
0.3891
0.5198
0.6599

0.0966
0.4375
0.5732
0.6841

0.1238
0.4704
0.6763
0.7383

0.1661
0.5089
0.7472
0.7815

0.2337
0.5445
0.8943
0.8943

0.2608
0.5580
1
1

Note: Work smart! Observe what happens when you step off stages for your
first operating line, and apply a reasonable shortcut for all subsequent
operating lines.

2. An equimolar mixture of toluene (MVC) and ethylbenzene (50 kmol total)

will be separated in a simple batch still at P = 1 atm. Assume relative
volatility is constant at 2.15.
a. If the distillation stops when the final concentration of toluene in the
still pot is 20 mol%, find the amount and concentration of toluene in
the distillate.
b. If the distillation stops when the average concentration of toluene in
the distillate is 65 mol%, find the amount and concentration of
toluene left in the still pot. (Hint: you can solve the mass balances for
Wfinal/F for use in the integrated Rayleigh equation.)