ChE 201 ChE Fundamentals Example Problem Lecture 20 10-10-12

Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is an important precursor in the production of organic polymers, e.g. methyl methacrylate (used to produce Plexiglas). One method of producing hydrogen cyanide is via the catalytic reaction of nitrogen and ethyne (acetylene). The reaction is given by:

N 2 g C 2 H 2 g 2 HCN g
Due to thermodynamic constraints the single pass conversion is low (15%), and therefore a recycle stream is required. The gas stream exiting the reactor is cooled in a condenser to remove all of the HCN. The gas phase exiting the condenser is mixed with fresh feed and fed into the reactor. A schematic of the reactor is shown below.

Recycle

X Reactor N2, C2H2 1:1 HCN 15,000 kg/hr

If it is desired to produce 15,000 kg/hr of HCN, determine: a) The number of moles per hour and the percentage composition of the material leaving the reactor (point X). b) The feed rate of nitrogen and ethyne. c) The recycle to fresh feed ratio. d) An intern engineer suggests improving the process by adding a purge stream leading from the recycle stream. Is this a good idea? Why or why not?

Solution a) HCN balance on condenser:

n HCN 15,000 kg 1 kmol kmol 554 .9 hr 27 .03 kg hr

input output input 554.92 kmol hr

Balance on Reactor: X moles N2 fed to the reactor X moles C2H2 fed to the reactor

N 2 C 2 H 2 2 HCN
X .15 2 554.9 X 1849 kmol hr

Y moles N2 exit the reactor Y moles C2H2 exit the reactor:

Y 1849 .15 1849 1572 kmol hr

Therefore the moles exiting the reactor are given by: n N 2 nC2 H 2 1572

n HCN 554.9 nTOT 3699

The compositions are given by:
y N2 y C2 H 2 y HCN 1572 0.43 3699 1572 0.43 3699 555 0.15 3699

b) The total moles in the recycle stream is given by:

n recycle 1572 1572 3144 moles

Nitrogen balance around mixing point:

1572 A 1849 A 277.4

Similarly, the moles of C2H2 fed is 277.4. Therefore, the total moles of fresh feed are given by:
n fresh 277 .4 277 .4 554 .8

c) The ratio is given by:

nrecycle n fresh 3144 5.7 554.8

d) There is no inert component in the reactants and no byproduct being formed. Therefore a purge line will only remove reactants. A purge line will not be advantageous.