CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one

Week 5

Question 1

Pure water is to be used to extract acetic acid from 400kg of feed solution containing
25 wt% acetic acid in isopropyl ether. Use the attached equilibrium data and phase
diagram to answer –

a) If 400kg of water is used, calculate the percentage recovery in the water

solution in a one-stage process.
b) If a multiple three-stage process is used and 133.3 kg of fresh water is used in
each stage, calculate the overall percentage recovery of the acid in the total
outlet water.
Hint: First calculate the outlet of extract and raffinate streams for the first
stage using 400kg feed solution and 133.3kg of water. For the second stage,
133.3kg of fresh water contacts the outlet organic phase from the first stage.
For the third stage, 133.3kg of water contacts the outlet of the organic phase
from the second stage.

Water Layer (wt%) Isopropyl Ether Layer (wt%)

Acetic Water Isopropyl Acetic Water Isopropyl
Acid Ether Acid Ether
0 98.8 1.2 0 0.6 99.4
0.69 98.1 1.21 0.18 0.5 99.32
1.4 97.1 1.5 0.37 0.7 98.93
2.89 95.5 1.61 0.79 0.8 98.41
6.42 91.7 1.88 1.93 1 97.07
13.3 84.4 2.3 4.82 1.9 93.28
25.5 71.1 3.4 11.4 3.9 84.7
36.7 58.9 4.4 21.6 6.9 71.5
44.3 45.1 10.6 31.1 10.8 58.1
46.4 37.1 16.5 36.2 15.1 48.7
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one

Question 2 – Extraction of Diphenylhexane from Docosane with Furfural

Extraction of docosane-diphenylhexane (DPH)-furfural is representative of complex

system encountered in the solvent refining of lubricating oils. Five hundred kg/h of a
40 wt% mixture of DPH in docosane are to be extracted in a counter-current system
with 500 kg/h of a solvent containing 98% furfural and 2wt% DPH to produce a
raffinate of 5 wt% DPH. Calculate, with a right-angle-triangle diagram the stages
required and the kg/h of DPH in the extract at 45°C and 80°C.

Table 1: Binodal curves in docosane- diphenylhexane (DPH)-furfural system [Ind. Eng. Chem., 35, 711 (1943)]

Wt% at 45°C Wt% at 80°C

Docosane DPH Furfural Docosane DPH Furfural
96.0 0.0 4.0 90.3 0.0 9.7
84.0 11.0 5.0 50.5 29.5 20.0
67.0 26.0 7.0 34.2 35.8 30.0
52.5 37.5 10.0 23.8 36.2 40.0
32.6 47.4 20.0 16.2 33.8 50.0
21.3 48.7 30.0 10.7 29.3 60.0
13.2 46.8 40.0 6.9 23.1 70.0
7.7 42.3 50.0 4.6 15.4 80.0
4.4 35.6 60.0 3.0 7.0 90.0
2.6 27.4 70.0 2.2 0.0 97.8
1.5 18.5 80.0
1.0 9.0 90.0
0.7 0.0 99.3

The tie lines in the docosane-diphenylhexane-furfural system are:

Table 2

Docosane Phase, wt% Furfural Phase, wt%

Docosane DPH Furfural Docosane DPH Furfural
Temperature, 45°C
85.2 10.0 4.8 1.1 9.8 89.1
69.0 24.5 6.5 2.2 24.2 73.6
43.9 42.6 13.3 6.8 40.9 52.3

Temperature, 80°C
86.7 3.0 10.3 2.6 3.3 94.1
73.1 13.9 13.0 4.6 15.8 79.6
50.5 29.5 20.2 9.2 27.4 63.4
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one

45°C
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one

45°C
CHE3165 Tutorial Problems Semester one

80°C