UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CEIC 2009 S2 2015
MATERIAL & ENERGY BALANCES STRAND
TUTORIAL PROBLEMS

1.1

Change 400 in3 / day to cm3 / min.

1.2

Nanosize materials have become the subject of intensive investigation in the last
decade because of their potential use in semiconductors, drugs and electron transport.
Nanotechnology is the generic term that refers to the synthesis and application of such
small particles. An example of a semiconductor is ZnS with a particle diameter of 1.8
nm. Convert this value to (a) decimetres (dm) and (b) inches (in.)

1.3

In biological systems, enzymes are used to accelerate the rates of certain biological
reactions. Glucoamylase is an enzyme that aids in the conversion of starch to glucose
( a sugar that cells use for energy). Experiments show that 1 g mol of glucoamylase
in a 4% starch solution results in a production rate of glucose of 0.6 g mol /(ml)
(min). Determine the production rate of glucose for this system in units of lb mol
/(ft3)(day)

1.1

Solution:

400 3 2.54 3 1 1
3

= 4.56

1
24 60

1.2

Solution:

(a)
1.8 109 10

1
1
= 1.8 x 10-8 dm

(b)

1.8

109 39.37
1

= 7.1 x 10-8 in

1.3

Solution:
0.6 1
1
1
60 24
6

()()
10 454 3.531 102 3

1
= 0.0539 lb mol /(ft3)(day)