Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the

Industrial Application Material Balances

What is a recycle system?

A recycle system is a system that includes one or more
recycle streams.

Recycle

Feed Process 1 products

Process 2 products

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

some examples of the application of material recycling in the process

industries

Increased reactant conversion.

Continuous catalyst regeneration.

Circulation of a working fluid.

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 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

Recycle without Chemical Reaction

Recycle of material occurs in a variety of processes that do

not involve chemical reaction, including distillation,

crystallization, and heating and refrigeration systems.

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

EXAMPLE: The following figure is a schematic of a process for the production of flake
NaOH, which is used in households to clear plugged drains in the plumbing (e.g.,
Drano).

The fresh feed to the process is 10,000 lb/hr of a 40% aqueous NaOH solution.
The fresh feed is combined with the recycled filtrate from the crystallizer, and fed
to the evaporator where water is removed to produce a 50% NaOH solution,
which in turn is fed to the crystallizer. The crystallizer produces a filter cake that is
95% NaOH crystals and 5% solution that itself consists of 45% NaOH. The filtrate
contains 45% NaOH.
a. You are asked to determine the flow rate of water removed by the evaporator,
and the recycle rate for this process.
b. Assume that the same production rate of NaOH flakes occurs, but the filtrate is
not recycled. What would be the total feed rate of 40% NaOH have to be then?
Assume
ChE 201:that the product
Introduction solution from the evaporator still contains
to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad50% NaOH.
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 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

Solution

Steps 1,2,3, and 4

Open, steady-state process. The figure contains the

information needed to solve the problem.

Step 5
Basis: 10,000 lb fresh feed (equivalent to 1 hour)

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances
Steps 6 and 7
The unknowns are W, G, P, and R.
Two overall component balances can determine the values of W and P
Tow component balances on a crystallizer can determine the values of
G and R.
Steps 8 and 9
Overall NaOH balance
(0.4)(10,000) = [0.95 + (0.45) (O.O5)]P
P=4113 lb
Overall H2O balance

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

(or use the overall total balance 10,000 = 4113 + W)

The total amount of NaOH exiting with P is

Tow component balances on a crystallizer.

NaOH balance on the crystallizer

H20 balance on the crystallizer

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

(or use the total balance G = R + 4113)

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

b. Now, suppose recycle from the crystallizer does not occur, but the
production and composition of P remains the same. Then the output of
the crystallizer is just P.

Step 5
The basis is now P = 4113 Ib (the same as 1 hour)

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances
Steps 6 and 7
The unknowns are now F, W, G, and H. You can make two component
balances on the evaporator and two on the crystallizer plus two overall
balances. Only four are independent

Steps 8 and 9
NaOH balance on the crystallizer

H20 balance on the crystallizer

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

An overall NaOH balance gives the new F

Overall NaOH balance

Note that without recycle, the feed rate must be 5.37 times larger than
with recycle to produce the same amount of product,

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

12.3 Recycle with Chemical Reaction

The most common application of recycle for systems involving

chemical reaction is the recycle of reactants, an application that is
used to increase the overall conversion in a reactor

the extent of reaction is the same regardless of whether an overall

material balance is used or a material balance for the reactor is used.

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
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You will encounter two types of conversion when reactions occur:

1. Overall fraction conversion:

mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed - mass (moles) of reactant in the output of the overall process
mass (moles) of reactant in the fresh feed

2. Single - pass fraction conversion:

When the fresh feed consists of more than one reactant, the
conversion can be expressed for a single component, usually the
limiting reactant, or the most important (expensive) reactant.

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

-
Overall conversion of species A = fOA=
nA fresh feed

Single-pass conversion = fSP = -

nA reactor feed
Where reactor feed = fresh feed + recycle

The relationship between overall and single-pass conversion:

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances
EXAMPLE: Cyclohexane (C6H12) can be made by the reaction of benzene (Bz)
(C6H6) with hydrogen according to the following reaction:

For the process shown in the following Figure, determine the ratio of the recycle
stream to the fresh feed stream if the overall conversion of benzene is 95%, and
the single-pass conversion is 20%. Assume that 20% excess hydrogen is used in
the fresh feed, and that the composition of the recycle stream is 22.74 mol %
benzene and 78.26mol % hydrogen.

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

Solution

Step 1,2,3 and 4

The process is open and steady state.

Step 5

Basis: 100 mol of fresh benzene feed,

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

The Figure contains all of the information available about the flow streams
except the amount of H2, which is in 20% excess (for complete reaction,
remember)

nFH2 = 100(3)(1 + 0.20) = 360 mol

The total fresh feed = 100 +360 = 460 mol.

From reaction equation benzene (z = - 1)

-
fOA= fresh feed
nA

= 95 reacting moles.

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances
Steps 6 and 7
The unknowns are R, nPBz, nPH2, nFC
6H12

You can write three species balances for each of the three systems,
the mixing point, the reactor, and the separator plus overall balances
(not all of which are independent, of course).

Steps 8 and 9

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
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The amount of the Bz feed to the reactor = 100+ 0.2274R

also = 95

For benzene

-
fSP = reactor feed
nA

The ratio of recycle to fresh feed is:

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

12.4 Bypass and Purge

A bypass stream is a stream that skips one or more stages of the

process and goes directly to another downstream

Bypass B

Feed Divider Process Mixer Product

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

A purge stream is a stream bled off from the process to remove an

accumulation of inerts or unwanted material that might otherwise build
up in the recycle stream

Recycle R
Divider Purge

Feed Divider Process Mixer Product

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

EXAMPLE : In the feedstock preparation section of a plant manufacturing
natural gasoline, isopentane is removed from butane-free gasoline.
Assume for purposes of simplification that the process and
components are as shown in the following Figure.

What fraction of the butane-free gasoline is passed through the

isopentane tower? Detailed steps will not be listed in the analysis and
solution of this problem. The process is in the steady state and no
reaction occurs.
ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani
 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

Solution
Basis: 100 kg feed

a. Overall balances (each stream is designated by the letter F, S, or P with

the units being kg)

Total material balance:

In = Out
100 = S + P
Component balance for n-C5 (tie component)

In = Out
l00(0.80) = S(0) + P(0.90)

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
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b. Balance around isopentane tower:

Total material balance:

In = Out
x = 11.1+y
Component balance for n-C5 (a tie component):

x(0.80) = y x = 55.5

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani

 Recycle, Bypass, Purge, & the
Industrial Application Material Balances

C. Balance around mixing point 2:

Total material:

In = Out
(100 - x) + y = 88.9

Component (iso-C5):

In = Out
(100 - x)(0.20) + 0 = 88.9(0.10)

ChE 201: Introduction to Chemical Engineering Dr Saad Al-Shahrani