Minimum Solvent to Feed Ratio

1. Calculate the minimum solvent to feed ratio for Problem 5.5.

Given: 𝑉2 = 600 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟

𝐿0 = 200 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟
𝑥𝐴0 = 0.3
𝑥𝐴2 = 0.04

Required: minimum solvent to feed ratio

Solution: Let us first start with the illustration of the problem.

From Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook 9th edition, the formula for the
minimum solvent to feed ratio is

𝑆 1.3
( ) ≈ ; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐾𝑖 = (𝑌𝑖 )𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡 /(𝑋𝑖 )𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑖

But first we need to solve for the mole fraction compositions of the extract (since
we already have the mole fraction of the raffinate). Solving for those, we have

𝑦𝐴1 = 0.08 (𝑆𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒)

Now that we have all the necessary information, calculating the minimum solvent
to feed ratio, we have

𝑆 1.3
( ) =
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛 0.08⁄0.04
𝑆
( ) = 0.65
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛

The minimum solvent to feed ratio for the problem is 0.65.

2. Calculate the minimum solvent to feed ratio for Problem 5.6.

Given: 𝑉𝑁+1 = 450 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟

𝑦𝐴𝑁+1 = 0
𝐿0 = 150 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟
𝑥𝐴0 = 0.30
𝑥𝐴𝑁 = 0.10

Required: minimum solvent to feed ratio

Solution: From Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook 9th edition, the formula for
the minimum solvent to feed ratio is

𝑆 1.3
( ) ≈ ; 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐾𝑖 = (𝑌𝑖 )𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡 /(𝑋𝑖 )𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝐾𝑖

But first let us solve for the mole fraction of the extract. Solving for it, we have

𝑦𝐴1 = 0.07(𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒)

Now that we have all the necessary information, calculating the minimum solvent
to feed ratio, we have

𝑆 1.3
( ) =
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛 0.07⁄0.01
𝑆
( ) = 0.19
𝐹 𝑚𝑖𝑛

The minimum solvent to feed ratio for the problem is 0.19.