Chemical Engineering Department

King Saud University

Fall 2005 ChE 423
NAME:_______________________________________

FINAL EXAM
● Time: 120 minutes
● Total points: 100 (10 points per question)
● Open book/notes, multiple choices
● Assume any missing data
● Please return your exam along with your answers (penalty 30 points for not
returning the exam).
● Have fun and good luck

Please circle the answer that is closest to yours

1. a b c d e
2. a b c d e
3. a b c d e
4. a b c d e
5. a b c d e
6. a b c d e
7. a b c d e
8. a b c d e
9. a b c d e
10. a b c d e
11. a b c d e
12. a b c d e
13. a b c d e
14. a b c d e
15. a b c d e

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Problem I. A pharmaceutical process uses a solvent (tetrahydrofuran THF) in two
units: mixer and purification network as shown in Fig. 1. During solvent mixing with
the feedstock, some amount of the solvent reacts with certain impurities in the
feedstock to produce waste materials that are separated in the purification network.
After the purification network, the mixture is fed to a reactor where the main product
is generated. The product is processed in separation and drying systems leading to a
dry powder which is palletized and sold. The offgases from the reactor and the
separator/dryer are currently being flared. To reduce solvent consumption and
improve the environmental performance of the process, it is desired to recover the
solvent from the offgases.

Fig. 1. Pharmaceutical Process

The relevant problem data are summarized in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1. Sink Data for the Pharmaceutical Problem
Sink Flowrate Maximum Inlet
kg/s Mass Fraction
of Impurities
Mixing 20.0 0.01
Purification 4.0 0.03
Network

Table 2. Source Data for the Pharmaceutical Problem

2
 Source Flowrate Inlet
kg/s Mass Fraction
of Impurities
Reactor offgas 6.0 0.02
Drying offgas 15.0 0.05

1. What is the total load (kg/s) of impurities in the two process sources?
a. 0.12 b. 0.32 c. 0.75 d. 0.87 e. 1.05

2. How much THF solvent is lost in reactions with the impurities (in kg/s)?
a. 3.0 b. 5.0 c. 21.0 d. 24.0 e. 31.0

3. Using segregation, mixing, recycle, and interception, what is the target for
minimum solvent consumption (no limitations on technology, mass integration
strategies, or cost)?
a. 3.0 b. 5.0 c. 21.0 d. 24.0 e. 31.0

4. If no capital is available for new equipment, what is the target for minimum solvent
consumption when direct recycle strategies (without new equipment) are used?
Assume that the only available fresh solvent is pure (100% THF).
a. 6.0 b. 10.0 c. 14.0 d. 21.0 e. 31.0

5. Consider the case when three fresh resources are available. Their contents of
impurities are 0.00, 0.01, and 0.06 (expressed as mass fractions). The costs of the
three fresh resources are 3.0, 1.0, and 0.5 ($/kg solvent). What is the minimum cost
($/s) of the fresh solvents when direct recycle strategies are used.

a. 5.0 b. 10.0 c. 20.0 d. 42.0 e. 49.0

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PROBLEM II. A processing facility has one rich stream, R1, which contains a
valuable byproduct and two process lean streams (S1 and S2), that can recover the
byproduct. Three external MSAs (S3, S4, and S5) are also considered for recovering
the byproduct. The data for the rich stream are given in Table I. The data for the
candidate MSAs are given in Table II. The equilibrium data for the transfer of the
pollutant from the waste stream to the jth MSA is given by
y = mj xj
where y and xj are the mass fractions of the byproduct in the rich stream and the jth
MSA, respectively.

Table I. Data for the Rich Stream

Supply composition Target composition
Description Flowrate (ppmw)
(ppmw) yit
Stream Gi, kg/s yis

R1 Mixture 0.1 1,200 100

containing
byproduct

Table II. Data for the MSA’s

Stream Upper bound Supply Target mj Cj
j
on flowrate composition composition $/kg
ppmw
(ppmw) MSA
(ppmw) xjt
xjs
kg/s
S1 0.1 500 700 1.0 300 -
S2 0.3 200 350 2.0 200 -
S3 50 800 1.0 50 0.010
S4 400 1,200 3.0 100 0.002
S5 50 2,950 0.5 50 0.030

6. What is the load of the byproduct to be removed from R1 (kg/s)?

a. 10x10-6 b. 20x10-6 c. 50x10-6 d. 70x10-6 e.
110x10-6

7. What is the pinch location on the y-axis (in ppmw)?

a. 0 b. 400 c. 600 d. 800 e. 1,000

8. For a minimum operating cost solution, what is the optimum load of the
byproduct to be removed by the process MSAs (kg/s)?
a. 20x10-6 b. 40x10-6 c. 150x10-6 d. 270x10-6 e. 450x10-6

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 9. For a minimum operating cost solution in which the number of mass-exchange
units is the least (i.e., satisfies the minimum operating cost while requiring
minimum number of mass exchangers), what is the optimum load of
byproduct to be transferred from R1 to S1?
a. 0 b. 20x10-6 c. 40x10-6 d. 45x10-6 e. 65x10-6

10. The plant is interested in recovering the maximum amount of byproduct from
the rich stream (i.e., target composition of the rich stream will no longer be
100 ppmw). What should be the target composition (ppmw) for R1 that can be
practically achieved using the given MSAs?
a. 800 b. 90 c. 66 d. 50 e. 0

Problem II: Recovery of Heat in a Chemical Facility

A plant has two process hot streams (H1 and H1) and one process cold stream
(C1). One heating utilities (HU1) is available for service. Additionally, two cooling
utilities are produced onsite (CU1 and CU2 ). The operating costs of the two cooling
utilities (CU1 and CU2 ) are 1 and 5 ($/106 kJ removed), respectively. A minimum
driving force of 10 K is required for any heat exchange duty. The following table
provides data for the process.

Table of Stream Data for the Hot and Cold Streams

Stream Flowrate x Specific Supply Target

Heat Temperature, K Temperature, K

kJ/K. s

H1 10 600 350

H2 20 450 300

HU1 ? 800 750

C1 15 400 700

CU1 ? 305 315

CU2 ? 270 280

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11. What is the temperature (K) of the hot streams at the thermal pinch point?
a) 350 b) 410 c)450 d)600 e)710

12. What is the minimum heating utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400

13. What is the minimum cooling utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400

14. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU1

a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100

15. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU2

a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100

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 Chemical Engineering Department
King Saud University
Fall 2005 ChE 423
NAME:_______________________________________

FIRST MIDTERM EXAM

● Time: 75 minutes
● Total points: 150 (10 points per question)
● Open book/notes, multiple choices
● Assume any missing data
● Please return your exam along with your answers (penalty 30 points for not
returning the exam).
● Have fun and good luck

Please circle the answer that is closest to yours

1. a b c d e
2. a b c d e
3. a b c d e
4. a b c d e
5. a b c d e
6. a b c d e
7. a b c d e
8. a b c d e
9. a b c d e
10. a b c d e
11. a b c d e
12. a b c d e
13. a b c d e
14. a b c d e
15. a b c d e

7
 1. What is the total load (kg/s) of impurities in the two process sources?

a. 0.12 b. 0.32 c. 0.75 d. 0.87 e. 1.05

2. How much THF solvent is lost in reactions with the impurities (in kg/s)?

a. 3.0 b. 5.0 c. 21.0 d. 24.0 e. 31.0

3. Using segregation, mixing, recycle, and interception, what is the target for
minimum solvent consumption (no limitations on technology, mass integration
strategies, or cost)?

a. 3.0 b. 5.0 c. 21.0 d. 24.0 e. 31.0

4. If no capital is available for new equipment, what is the target for minimum solvent
consumption when direct recycle strategies (without new equipment) are used?
Assume that the only available fresh solvent is pure (100% THF).

a. 6.0 b. 10.0 c. 14.0 d. 21.0 e.

31.0

5. Consider the case when three fresh resources are available. Their contents of
impurities are 0.00, 0.01, and 0.06 (expressed as mass fractions). The costs of the
three fresh resources are 3.0, 1.0, and 0.5 ($/kg solvent). What is the minimum cost
($/s) of the fresh solvents when direct recycle strategies are used.

a. 5.0 b. 10.0 c. 20.0 d. 42.0 e.

49.0

6. What is the load of the byproduct to be removed from R1 (kg/s)?

a. 10x10-6 b. 20x10-6 c. 50x10-6 d. 70x10-6 e. 110x10-6

7. What is the pinch location on the y-axis (in ppmw)?

a. 0 b. 400 c. 600 d. 800 e. 1,000

8. For a minimum operating cost solution, what is the optimum load of the
byproduct to be removed by the process MSAs (kg/s)?
a. 20x10-6 b. 40x10-6 c. 150x10-6 d. 270x10-6 e. 450x10-6

8
 9. For a minimum operating cost solution in which the number of mass-exchange
units is the least (i.e., satisfies the minimum operating cost while requiring
minimum number of mass exchangers), what is the optimum load of
byproduct to be transferred from R1 to S1?
a. 0 b. 20x10-6 c. 40x10-6 d. 45x10-6 e. 65x10-6

10. The plant is interested in recovering the maximum amount of byproduct from
the rich stream (i.e., target composition of the rich stream will no longer be
100 ppmw). What should be the target composition (ppmw) for R1 that can be
practically achieved using the given MSAs?
a. 800 b. 90 c. 66 d. 50 e. 0

11. What is the temperature (K) of the hot streams at the thermal pinch point?
a) 350 b) 410 c)450 d)600 e)710

12. What is the minimum heating utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400

13. What is the minimum cooling utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400
14. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU1
a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100
15. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU2
a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100

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Solution:

Total load of sources = 6*0.02 + 15*0.5 = 0.87 kg/s (answer d)

THF consumed by reaction = in – out = 24 – 21 = 3 kg/s (answer a)

(a)

(b)

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a. Fresh 3 will not be used since its composition exceeds that of the Drying
Offgas (source prioritization rule). Compare fresh1 with fresh2 and evaluate
flowrate* cost.

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Minimum cost for fresh 1 = 14*3 = $42/s
Minimum cost for fresh 2 = 20*1 = $20/s 🡺 Choose fresh 2.

Algebraic Procedure
Table 1. Sink Data for the Pharmaceutical Example
Sink Flowrate Maximum Maximum Cumulative
kg/s Inlet Inlet Load
Mass Load
Fraction of Impurities
of Impurities
Mixing 20.0 0.01 0.20 0.20
Purification 4.0 0.03 0.12 0.32
Network

Table 2. Source Data for the Pharmaceutical Example

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 Source Flowrate Inlet Inlet Load Cumulative
kg/s Mass of Impurities Load
Fraction
of Impurities
Reactor offgas 6.0 0.02 0.12 0.12
Drying offgas 15.0 0.05 0.75 0.87

model:
min = Fresh;
Fresh = FreshMixing + FreshPurification;
FMixing = 20.0;
FPurification = 4.0;
F21*0.05 + F11*0.02 <= 0.20;
F22*0.05 + F12*0.02 <= 0.12;
F11 + F21 + FreshMixing = FMixing;
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F12 + F22 + FreshPurification = FPurification;
F11 + F12 <= 6.0;
F21 + F22 <= 15.0;
End

Global optimal solution found at iteration: 1

Objective value: 14.00000

Variable Value Reduced Cost

FRESH 14.00000 0.000000
FRESHMIXING 12.40000 0.000000
FRESHPURIFICATION 1.600000 0.000000
FMIXING 20.00000 0.000000
FPURIFICATION 4.000000 0.000000
F21 1.600000 0.000000
F11 6.000000 0.000000
F22 2.400000 0.000000
F12 0.000000 0.000000

model:
min = 3.0*Fresh1 + 1.0*Fresh2 + 0.5*Fresh3;
Fresh1 = Fresh1Mixing + Fresh1Purification;
Fresh2 = Fresh2Mixing + Fresh2Purification;
Fresh3 = Fresh3Mixing + Fresh3Purification;
FMixing = 20.0;
FPurification = 4.0;
F21*0.05 + F11*0.02 + Fresh2Mixing*0.01 +
Fresh3Mixing*0.06 <= 0.20;
F22*0.05 + F12*0.02 + Fresh2Purification*0.01 +
Fresh13Purification*0.06 <= 0.12;
F11 + F21 + Fresh1Mixing + Fresh2Mixing + Fresh3Mixing =
FMixing;
F12 + F22 + Fresh1Purification + Fresh2Purification +
Fresh13Purification = FPurification;
F11 + F12 <= 6.0;
F21 + F22 <= 15.0;
End

Global optimal solution found at iteration: 5

Objective value: 20.00000

Variable Value Reduced Cost

FRESH1 0.000000 0.000000
FRESH2 20.00000 0.000000
FRESH3 0.000000 0.000000
FRESH1MIXING 0.000000 1.000000
FRESH1PURIFICATION 0.000000 3.000000
FRESH2MIXING 20.00000 0.000000
FRESH2PURIFICATION 0.000000 1.000000
FRESH3MIXING 0.000000 4.500000
FRESH3PURIFICATION 0.000000 0.5000000
FMIXING 20.00000 0.000000

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 FPURIFICATION 4.000000 0.000000
F21 0.000000 3.000000
F11 0.000000 0.000000
F22 0.000000 0.000000
F12 4.000000 0.000000
FRESH13PURIFICATION 0.000000 0.000000

Solution:

I. First ,we plot the rich composite stream (one stream only)
extending between 100 and 1200 ppmw and having a vertical
depth of
MR1 = 0.1 (1200x10-6 - 100x10-6) = 1100x10-6 kg/s.

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Next, we represent the lean process streams (S1 and S2). S1 is
extending between 500 and 700 ppm on the x1 scale
(corresponding to 800 and 1000 ppmw on the y scale) and S2 is
extending between 200 and 350 ppmw on the x2 scale
(corresponding to 800 and 1100 ppmw on the y scale) and
having a vertical depth of
MS1 = 0.1 (700x10-6 - 500x10-6) = 20x10-6 kg/s.
MS2 = 0.3 (350x10-6 - 200x10-6) = 45x10-6 kg/s.

Integrated mass exchange = 40x10-6 kg/s

Excess capacity of process MSA = 25x10 -6 kg/s
Load to be removed by external MSA = 70x10 -6 kg/s

For minimum number of units satisfying minimum operating

cost: S1 cannot do it alone above the pinch 🡺 we still need an
exchanger using S2. But S2 can do it along above the pinch 🡺
enough one exchanger above the pinch R1-S2, no need to use
S1.

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Next, we compare the cost of the three external MSA’s

Therefore,

Similarly,

🡺 Choose S3 (flowrate L3 = 70x10-6/(750-50)x10-6 = 0.1 kg/s).

MOC = 70x10-6x14.3x3600x8760 = $31,570/yr

To get maximum recovery, need to reach minimum practical yt

which corresponds to the supply composition of the MSA
farthest to the left (S5) 🡺 minimum

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= 0.5(50 + 50) = 50 ppmw
(p.s., if we use S3, we get 1(50 + 50) = 100 ppmw)

1. What is the load of the byproduct to be removed from R1 (kg/s)?

a. 10x10-6 b. 20x10-6 c. 50x10-6 d. 70x10-6 e.
110x10-6

answer e

2. What is the pinch location on the y-axis (in ppmw)?

a. 0 b. 400 c. 600 d. 800 e. 1,000

answer d

3. For a minimum operating cost solution, what is the optimum load of the
byproduct to be removed by the process MSAs (kg/s)?
a. 15x10-6 b. 40x10-6 c. 150x10-6 d. 270x10-6 e. 450x10-6
answer b

4. For a minimum operating cost solution in which the number of mass-exchange

units is the least (i.e., satisfy the minimum operating cost while requiring
minimum number of mass exchangers), what is the optimum load of byproduct to
be transferred from R1 to S1?
a. 0 b. 20x10-6 c. 40x10-6 d. 45x10-6 e. 65x10-6

answer a

5. The plant is interested in recovering the maximum amount of byproduct from the
rich stream (i.e., target composition of the rich stream will no longer be 100
ppmw). What should be the target composition (ppmw) for R1 that can be
practically achieved using the given MSAs?
a. 800 b. 90 c. 66 d. 50 e. 0

answer d

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PROBLEM II

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20
Pinch location between intervals 2 & 3: 450 K
on hot scale
QHmin = 2,400 kJ/s

QCmin = 3,400 kJ/s

Since CU2 is more expensive than CU1, use

minimum load for CU2 (to remove load below
what CU1 can remove) 🡺 load below 305 K
on cold scale or 315 K on hot scale.

🡺 Load of CU2 = 20*(315 – 300) = 300 kJ/s

and the rest by CU1 = 3400 – 300 = 3100 kJ/s

6. What is the temperature (K) of the hot streams at the thermal pinch point?
a) 350 b) 410 c)450 d)600 e)710
Answer b

7. What is the minimum heating utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400
Answer d

8. What is the minimum cooling utility requirement (kJ/s)?

a) 900 b) 1200 c) 1800 d) 2400 e) 3400
Answer e

9. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU1

a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100
Answer e

10. What is the optimum cooling load (kJ/s) to be removed by CU2

a) 300 b) 900 c) 1500 d) 2100 e) 3100
Answer a
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