CHE425: Problem set #5

1. (Seader 4.23) An equimolar mixture of ethane, propane, n-butane, and n-pentane is

subjected to flash vaporization at 610oR and 205 psia. What are the expected amounts and
compositions of the products? Determine the temperature and pressure of a single-stage flash
to recover 70% of the ethane in the vapor without losing more than 5% of the nC4 to the
vapor.

EquilibriumKvaluesforlighthydrocarbonsystems
=============================================================
lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P+E/P2,wherePisinpsia,TisinoR
Compound
A
B
C
D
E
=============================================================
Ethane
687248.2
7.90694
.866
0
49.02654
Propane
970688.6
7.15059
.76984
6.90224
0
nButane
1280557
7.94986
.96455
0
0
nPentane
1524891
7.33129
.89143
0
0
=============================================================
Solution

P(psia) = 205
Drum temperature T(R) = 610
Flash temperature, T(R) = 610.00, V/F = 0.4537
Species: Ethane Propane n-Butane n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500
x=

0.1007

0.1956

0.3169

0.3868

y=

0.4298

0.3155

0.1695

0.0853

Ki =

4.2692

1.6124

0.5348

0.2205

Percentage recover of ethane in vapor = 78.0008

Percentage lost of n-butane in vapor = 30.7537
>> y11s5p1
P(psia) = 14.6
Drum temperature T(R) = 420
Flash temperature, T(R) = 420.00, V/F = 0.2570
Species: Ethane Propane n-Butane n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500
x=

0.1002

0.2463

0.3198

0.3336

y=

0.6831

0.2607

0.0480

0.0082

Ki =

6.8156

1.0583

0.1502

0.0246

Percentage recover of ethane in vapor = 70.2132

Percentage lost of n-butane in vapor = 4.93896
2) Run program CASCADES. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your
flash drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt
C:\> appears, type CASCADES and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report
the score and performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER
to exit the DOSBox program.
3) Run program MCCABE. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your
flash drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt
C:\> appears, type MCCABE and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report
the score and performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER
to exit the DOSBox program.
4) Run program VLE. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your flash
drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt C:\>
appears, type VLE and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report the performance
number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER to exit the DOSBox
program.
5) Run program BASIS. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your flash
drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt C:\>
appears, type BASIS and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report the
performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER to exit the
DOSBox program.
6) A 1000 lb-mole per hour mixture of 5% methane, 20% ethane, 25% propane, 30% nbutane, and 20% n-pentane at 47 psia and 90F is to be separated by a flash drum. Write a
Matlab program using the data in Table 2 to determine the fraction of the feed vaporized and
the compositions of the vapor and liquid streams leaving the flash drum. Compare the results
with those from Provision.
Table2EquilibriumKvaluesforlighthydrocarbonsystems
=============================================================
(1)lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P2
(2)lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P

Compound
A
B
C
D
Form
=============================================================
Methane
292860
8.2445
.8951
59.8465
(1)
Ethane
687248.2
7.90694
.866
49.02654
(1)
Propane
970688.6
7.15059
.76984
6.90224
(2)
nButane
1280557
7.94986
.96455
0
(1)

Ans:

nPentane
1524891
7.33129
.89143
0
(1)
========================================================
V/F = 0.97709
Species
Feed mole fraction
x
y
Methane
0.05
.00108
.05115
Ethane
0.20
.02001
.20422
Propane
0.25
.08247
.25393
n-Butane
0.3
.29914
.30002
n-Pentane
0.2
.59730
.19068
Solution
Flash temperature, T(R) = 550.00, V/F = 0.9771
Species: Methane
Ethane Propane n-Butane
n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.0500 0.2000 0.2500 0.3000 0.2000
x=

0.0011

0.0200

0.0825

0.2992

0.5973

y=

0.0511

0.2042

0.2539

0.3000

0.1907

Ki =

47.3323 10.2064

3.0789

1.0029

0.3192

7)Theequilibriumdatafortheacetone(1)water(2)systemaregivenat25oCasfollows:
x1

0.0194

0.0289

0.0449

0.0556

0.0939

y1

0.5234

0.6212

0.7168

0.7591

0.8351

50.1

61.8

81.3

91.9

126.1

P(mmHg)

At 25oC the vapor pressures are: P1sat = 230.05 mmHg and P2sat = 23.76 mmHg. Use these
data to calculate the following for the air-water-acetone system.

Ans:

(a) The vapor mol fraction of acetone in equilibrium with a liquid containing 0.0939 mol
fraction acetone at 25oC and a pressure of 2 atm.
(b) The vapor mol fraction of water in equilibrium with the liquid described in part (a).
a) 0.0693
b) 0.0137

8. 1A distillation column is fed 100 kmol/h of a mixture of 50 mol % benzene and 50 mol %
toluene at 101.32 kPa abs pressure. The feed is liquid at the boiling point. The distillate is to
contain 90 mol % benzene and the bottoms 10 mol % benzene. The reflux ratio is 4.52:1.
Calculate the kmol/h distillate, kmol/h bottoms, and the number of theoretical trays needed
using the McCabe-Thiele method. Equilibrium data for benzene-toluene system at 101.32
kPa are given below, where x and y are mole fraction of benzene.
x
y

0
0

0.130
0.261

0.258
0.456

0.411
0.632

0.581
0.777

0.780
0.900

1.000
1.000

Solution
From the graph, we have about 6 theoretical stages or 5 theoretical trays plus a reboiler.

11 Geankoplis, C.J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th edition,
Prentice Hall, 2003, p. 753