MALAWI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING & SOCIETY (ENSO 520)

MID-SEMESTER EXAMINATION

12 May 2021 Time Allowed: 1 hr (15:00 – 16:00hrs)

Attempt ALL THREE Questions

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Question 1 (15 marks)
a. Differentiate, with relevant examples, the following terms as applied in Process Design:
i. process synthesis and process integration
ii. process flow diagram and piping and instrumentation diagram
iii. input – output diagram and function diagram
iv. optimum economic design and optimum operation design
b. Briefly explain any five areas of process synthesis where heuristics are used.
c. State the heuristic to be used for the following situations in process synthesis and
integration:
i. when one of the reactants is highly poisonous
ii. when the reaction is highly exothermic
iii. when nearly pure products are required

Question 2 (15 marks)

A process uses a shell and tube heat exchanger made of stainless steel, operating at 50 bars.
The exchanger is a fixed tube sheet having a heat transfer area of 40m2.
(a) Calculate its cost in MWK given that the chemical engineering index for the plant was
555 in 2006 and is now 667 in 2021. The exchange rate is currently 800 MWK to 1
USD.
 (b) Calculate fixed capital cost in MWK given that the heat exchanger is 7% of the the total
purchase cost of plant equipment (PCE) for a fluid based plant using the detailed
factorial method
(c) Calculate the net present value (NPV) in the second year of operation given that:

i. The fixed capital cost was invested into the project at the beginning of year
2020 and the working capital was also made available in the course of the
same year.
ii. The plant will start producing at the beginning of year 2021.
iii. The plant will operate at 80% of its full capacity for the first year and
thereafter the capacity will be increased to 90% until the end of the project.
The plant capacity is 2500 kg/ h.
iv. The working capital represents 12% of the fixed capital costs.
v. The production cost (excluding capital charges) is always 18% of the product
selling price.
vi. The product selling price at the beginning of 2021 is MWK 22000 per ton.
vii. Capital charges represents 10% of fixed capital cost.
viii. The interest rate is 12.6%.
ix. The tax is 30%.

Question 3 (10 marks)

Cyclohexane (C6H12) can be produced by a reaction of benzene (C 6H6) and Hydrogen (H2).
Assume that C=12 kg/kmol, H=1 kg/kmole. Pure benzene is used as the feed but the hydrogen
contains 2 % (mol) methane. The desired production rate is 70,000 tonnes per year of
cyclohexane. The cost of benzene is MWK 5000/mol, hydrogen is MWK 1100/mol and
cyclohexane is MWK8700 /mol. Using the information provided:
a. Draw an input and output diagram for the process
b. Evaluate the profit margin of the process