Che 1211 Module 2

Saint Louis University
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

Department of Chemical Engineering
MODULE 2: FUNDAMENTALS OF MATERIAL BALANCE
Topic Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, each student should be able to:
TLO 2: Analyze and solve material balance problems involving single equipment process
without chemical reaction.
A material balance of an industrial process is an exact accounting of all the

materials that enter, leave, accumulate, or are depleted in the course of a given interval
of operation. The material balance is thus an expression of the law of conservation of mass
in accounting terms.
Law of Conservation of Mass
―There is no observable change in the quantity of matter during a chemical reaction or

during a physical change‖.
This statement simply means that the total mass of a material entering a fixed system
in a given time must equal the total mass of all materials leaving plus any accumulation
that occurs in the system.
Statements based on the law of conservation of mass are examples of mass

balances or material balances. The design of a new process or analysis of an existing one is
not complete until it is established that the inputs and outputs of the entire process and of
each individual unit satisfy balance equations.
Output Streams
Input Streams
SYSTEM
The material (mass) balance equation has the simple form:
INPUT = OUTPUT + ACCUMULATION
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ENGR. MYLENE M. OCASION
Total material balance around the process involving multiple input and output streams:
Σ (mass of entering = Σ (mass of leaving + mass accumulated in the

streams) streams) system
Component material balance:
Σ mass of component in = Σ mass of component in + mass of component

entering streams leaving streams accumulated within
the system
In the processes that involve chemical reactions taking place, the generation (or
depletion) of each reaction participant must be accounted for. The component balances
then take the form:
Input + Generation = Output + Consumption + Accumulation
PROCESS CLASSIFICATION
Processes may be classified as batch, continuous or semi-batch and as either

steady-state or transient. Before writing material balances for a process system, one must
know into which of these categories the process falls.
1. Batch process
The feed is charged (fed) into a vessel at the beginning of the process and the
vessel contents are removed sometime later. No mass crosses the system boundaries
between the time feed is charged and the time the product is removed.
2. Continuous process
The inputs and outputs flow continuously throughout the duration of the process.
Each stream is represented by a mass flow rate.
3. Semi-batch process
Any process that is neither batch nor continuous
If the values of all variables in a process (i.e., all temperatures, pressures, volumes,
flow rates) do not change with time, the process is said to be operating at steady-state.
Hence,
Input = Output
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If any of the process variables change with time, transient or unsteady state
operation is said to exist. By their nature, batch and semi-batch processes are unsteady
state operations, whereas continuous processes may be either steady-state or transient.
Batch processing is commonly used when relatively small quantities of a product are
to be produced on any single occasion, while continuous processing is better suited to
large production rates. Continuous processes are usually run as close to steady- state as
possible; unsteady state condition exist during start-up of a process and following changes-
intentional or otherwise- in process operation conditions.
General Rules to Solve Material Balance Problems

Draw and label a diagram of the process
Select a basis for calculation purposes
State any existing chemical equations (for chemical processes)
Write down material balance equations
Solve the equations to obtain the unknown values
MODULE 2 UNIT 1: MATERIAL BALANCE WITHOUT CHEMICAL REACTION INVOLVING

SINGLE- UNIT SYSTEM
MATERIAL (MASS) BALANCES INVOLVING STEADY-STATE PHYSICAL PROCESSES
A. MIXING (Blending) – process of combining two or more materials to produce a

product(mixture)
Feed 2 Process description:

a) The streams can be any
phase: solid, liquid or gas
b) There are two or more
entering (feed) streams
c) There is one exit, a “mixed”
Feed 1 Mixture
MIXER stream
Sample Problems:
1. An aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide contains 25% NaOH by mass. It is desired
to produce a 10% NaOH solution by diluting a stream of the 25% solution with a
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stream of pure water. Determine the feed rate of the 25% solution and the diluting
water needed to produce 2500 lb of 10% solution.
GIVEN: W, pure water
F1 MIXER Product, P = 2500 lb

25% NaOH
10% NaOH
75% H2O
90% H2O
REQUIRED: F1 and W
SOLUTION: Basis: 2500 lb of product
Let: F1 = feed rate of 25% NaOH solution

W = feed rate of pure water
Component Mass Balance(NaOH): lb
Total Material Balance (TMB):
2. A lacquer plant must deliver 1000 lbs of a 12% nitrocellulose solution. They have in
stock 7.5% solution. How much dry nitrocellulose must be dissolved in the solution to
fill the order?
GIVEN:
F2, pure nitrocellulose
F1
7.5% nitrocellulose solution Product, P = 1000 lb
12% nitrocellulose solution
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REQUIRED: F2
SOLUTION: Basis: 1000 lb of product
TMB: → (1)
CMB (Nitrocellulose): → (2)
Solving the two equations simultaneously gives:
3. A liquid adhesive, which is used to make laminated boards, consists of a polymer

dissolved in a solvent. The amount of polymer in the solution has to be carefully
controlled for this application. When the supplier of the adhesive receives an order
for 3000 kg of an adhesive solution containing 13% polymer, all he has on hand are
50 kg of a 10% adhesive solution, a very large quantity of a 20% adhesive solution
and enough solvent. Calculate the weight of the 20% solution and solvent needed if
all the 10% solution is to be used to fill the order.
GIVEN: F2
20% polymer
80% solvent
F1 = 50 kg P = 3000 kg
10% polymer 13% polymer
90% solvent 87% solvent
F3, solvent
REQUIRED: F2 and F3
SOLUTION: Basis: 3000 kg of product
CMB (Polymer):
TMB:
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ACTIVITY 1:
1. A waste acid containing 15% nitric acid, 50% sulfuric acid and 35% water is mixed
with a stream of concentrated sulfuric acid containing 7% water and another
stream of concentrated nitric acid containing 5% water. Determine the amount of
each feed stream needed to prepare 10,000 lbs of a mixture containing 54.3%
sulfuric acid and 31% nitric acid.
2. Dilute sulfuric acid has to be added to dry charged batteries at service stations to
activate a battery. You are asked to prepare a batch of new 18.63% acid as follows:
A tank of old weak battery acid (H2SO4) contains 12.43% H2SO4. If 200 kg of 77.7%
H2SO4 is added to the tank and the final solution is to be 18.63% H2SO4, how many
kilograms of battery acid have been made?
B. DRYING (Direct Heating) – the removal of relatively small amounts of water or other
liquid from the solid material to reduce the content of residual liquid to an acceptably
low value.
Solvent, S
Wet solids, F Dried solids, P

DRYER
xF xP
Process description:
a) The solvent stream leaves as a vapor and is solids-free
b) The exit dried solids are in the solid phase and may not be solvent-free
c) Feed can be solid, slurry or solution
d) The ―bone-dry‖ (solvent-free) solid serves as a tie component
Total Material Balance: F=S + P

Solute(tie-component) balance: xFF = xPP where: x = mass fraction
Amount of solvent removed(Ratio method): ⌊ ⌋= ⌊ ⌋
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2 ways of expressing moisture content:

Wet basis
XH2O = mass of moisture (H2O)
total mass of material
Dry basis
XH2O = mass of moisture (H2O)
mass of bone-dry mat’l
Sample Problems:
1. It is desired to reduce the moisture content of wet lumber to 30% by drying it slowly
from an initial moisture content of 60%. How many pounds of water must be
evaporated for every 2500 pounds of wet lumber? How many pounds of dried
lumber will be obtained?
Solvent, S or water
GIVEN:
Wet lumber, F= 2500 lb

Dried lumber, P
60% moisture
XF = 0.40 30% moisture
REQUIRED: S and P
XP = 0.70
SOLUTION: Basis: 2500 of wet lumber, F

Using ratio method:
⌊ ⌋ ( )
TMB:
2. A paper mill has a drying operation in which paper is fed in a continuous steady-
state operation through a dryer where the water content of the paper is reduced to
10%. The wet paper entering the dryer contains 20% water by weight with the rest
being dry paper. If 100 kg of water is removed from the paper per hour, how many
kilograms of dried paper are produced per hour?
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GIVEN:
S = 100 kg/hr
Wet paper, F Dried paper, P

20% H2O 10% H2O
80% dry paper 90% dry paper
REQUIRED: Kg of dried paper produced per hour, P
SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour steady-state operation
Using ratio method:
⌊ ⌋
( )
3. A mill produces wet paper containing 15% water by weight with the rest being dry
paper. This wet paper is fed in a continuous steady-state operation through a dryer
where the water content of the paper is reduced to 6% by weight. If the heating
costs 15 cents per every pound of water removed from the paper in the drying
operation, what is the heating cost per 100 lb of initial wet paper?
GIVEN: S
Wet paper
F = 100 lb Dried paper, P
6% H2O
15% H2O
99% dry paper
85% dry paper
REQUIRED: Heating cost per 100 lb of initial wet paper
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SOLUTION: Basis: 100 lb of wet paper, F
⌊ ⌋ ( )
ACTIVITY 2:
1. A moist paper containing 20% water goes into the dryer in a continuous process. The
paper leaves the dryer containing 2% water by weight. Calculate the weight of
water removed from the paper per 100 lb of original moist paper.
2. Sludge is wet solids that result from the processing in municipal sewage systems. The
sludge has to be dried before it can be composted or otherwise handled. If the
sludge containing 70% water and 30% solids is passed through a drier, and the
resulting product contains 25% water, how much water is evaporated per ton of
sludge sent to the drier?
C. EVAPORATION – This is a special case of heat transfer, which deals with the evaporation
of a volatile solvent such as water from a non-volatile Solvent, S as salt or any material
solute such
in solution.
E
V
A
P
Low concentration O
R
solution (Feed, F)
A
T
O
R
High concentration
solution (Product, P)
- Similar to drying except that the process streams are both liquids
- Solvent is solute-free
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Total Material Balance: F=S+P

Solute (tie-component) balance: xFF = xPP where: x = mass fraction
Amount of solvent removed(Ratio method): ⌊ ⌋= ⌊ ⌋
Sample Problems:
1. It is desired to concentrate a 10% caustic soda solution by evaporating an amount
of solvent to produce a 75% caustic solution. How much solution must be charged
to an evaporator to obtain 8000 lbs of concentrated caustic solution?
GIVEN:
Solvent, S
Feed, F
10% NaOH
P = 8000 lb
REQUIRED: Feed, F 75% NaOH
SOLUTION: Basis: P = 8000 lb
CMB (NaOH):
2. An evaporator is designed to remove 60% of the original water content of a solution

per hour. If 500 kg/min of a solution containing 10% dissolved solids is fed to this
evaporator, how many kg of concentrated solution will be obtained per hour and
what is its composition?
GIVEN:
S = 60% of original water content
F = 500 kg/min
10% dissolved solids
90% H2O P
REQUIRED: Kg/hr of concentrated solution, P and its composition
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SOLUTION: 1 hour steady-state operation
( )
TMB:
⌊ ⌋
( )
→ 21.74% solids in the product
COMPOSITION OF PRODUCT:
Components Mass/hr, kg/hr Mass%
Solids 3000.12 21.74
H2O 78.26
ACTIVITY 3:
1. In the concentration of orange juice, a fresh extracted and strained juice containing
7.08 wt. % solids is fed to a vacuum evaporator. In the evaporator, water is removed
and the solids content increased to 58 wt. %. For 10,000 kg/hr entering, calculate the
amounts of the outlet streams of concentrated juice and water produced per day.
2. In a process of producing jam, crushed fruit containing 14% soluble solids is mixed in
a mixer with sugar (1.22 kg sugar / kg crushed fruit) and pectin (0.0025 kg pectin / kg
of crushed fruit). The resultant mixture is then evaporated in a kettle to produce a
jam containing 67 wt.% dissolved solids. For a feed of 1000 kg of crushed fruit,
calculate the kg mixture from the mixer, kg water evaporated and kg jam
produced.
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D. DISTILLATION
This is an operation where mixtures are separated by boiling because of their differences in
volatility.
Overhead product
(Distillate, D)
Feed solution, F
Bottoms product, B
a) The more volatile components are in the distillate
b) The less volatile components are in the bottom product
c) Separation is accomplished by boiling
d) Perfect separation is not possible
Let xF, xD, xB = mass fraction of the more volatile component in the feed, distillate and
bottoms,
Respectively
Total Material Balance: F=D+B

More Volatile Component Balance: xFF = xDD + xBB
Sample Problems:
1. A distillation column is fed with an equimolar mixture of acetone and water at a rate
of 80 kmole/hr. It is desired to recover 95% of the acetone in the distillate. If the
bottoms product contains 10% by mole acetone, what is the molar rate of each exit
stream?
56
GIVEN: Distillate, D
95% C3H6O in the Feed
F = 80 kmol/hr
50 mole% C3H6O
50 mole% H2O
Bottoms product, B
10 mole% C3H6O
REQUIRED: Molar rate of D and B 90 mole% H2O
SOLUTION: Basis: 80 kmol/hr of feed, F
( )
CMB(C3H6O):
TMB:
2. A mixture of acetone (C3H6O) and isopropanol (C3H8O) containing 50 mole%

acetone is to be distilled continuously to produce an overhead product containing
80 mole% acetone and a bottoms containing 97.5 mole% isopropanol. Determine
the kg of mixture required to produce 1000 kg of overhead product.
GIVEN: Distillate, D = 1000 kg

80 mole% C3H6O
20 mole% C3H8O
Feed, F
50 mole% C3H6O
50 mole% C3H8O
Bottoms product, B
97.5 mole% C3H8O
2.5 mole% C3H6O
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REQUIRED: Kg of feed
SOLUTION: Basis 1000 kg of D

( )( )
Convert mole% to mass%: * ( )( ))
+
At the feed:
At the distillate, D:
At the bottoms product, B:
TMB: → →(1)
CMB (C3H6O): →(2)
Solving the two equations simultaneously gives:
3. A liquid mixture containing 45% benzene(C6H6) and 55% toluene (C7H8) by mass is
fed to a distillation column. A product stream leaving the top of the column
contains 95% mole benzene and a bottom product contains 8% of the benzene fed
to the column. The volumetric flow rate of the feed stream is 2000 L/hr and the
specific gravity is 0.8752. Determine the mass flow rate of the overhead product
stream and the composition (mass%) of the bottom product stream.
Distillate, D = 1000 kg
GIVEN: 95 mole% C6H6
5 mole% C7H8
Feed, F
𝐿
𝑄̇ 𝑆𝐺
𝑟
45 mass% C6H6 Bottoms product, B
55 mass% C7H8 8 % of C6H6 fed to
the column
58
REQUIRED: Mass flowrate of distillate D and the composition (mass%) of B
SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour steady-state condition
At the feed: ̇
At the bottom:
( )
At the distillate:
CMB(C6H6):
TMB: Composition of Bottom product
Component 𝑚̇ 𝑘𝑔 𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
C6H6 63.0144 6.4251
C7H8 917.7339 93.5749
B= 980.7483
ACTIVITY 4:
1. A continuous fractionating distillation column is used to separate 3.87 kg/s of 40%

benzene (by mass) and 60% toluene into an overhead product containing 97 mass%
benzene and a bottoms product containing 98 mass% toluene. Determine the
amount of the top and bottoms product in kg/hr.
E. CRYSTALLIZATION – the formation of solid particles from a liquid solution. This process is
important industrially because it affords a practical method of obtaining pure chemical
substances in a satisfactory condition for packing and storing.
Crystallization of solute from a liquid solution maybe brought about by reaching super
saturation
through:
Cooling the solution without evaporation of the solvent
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Cooling the solution with evaporation of the solvent (the process is known as
adiabatic cooling and this only happens at very low pressure).
Salting out – a substance which reduces the solubility of the solute is added to the
solution thus promoting the crystallization of the solute.
Seeding – placing a third component to the solution to induce crystallization
Important Terms:
a) Supersaturated solution – one in which the solution contains more solute that it can
hold at equilibrium solubility at a certain temperature
b) Mother liquor – the solution remaining after the crystals are formed
c) Magma – the 2-phase mixture of mother liquor and crystals
If the mother liquor is said to be saturated, it contains the maximum amount it can hold as
specified in the solubility data (g solute / g solvent).
Feed, F CRYSTALLIZER Crystals, C

xF xC
Original solution of For crystals:

solute and solvent Hydrate: with water
Anhydrous: without water (xC = 1)
Xc = MW of solute
MW of crystal
Mother liquor, L
xL
Total Material Balance: F=L+C
Solute Balance: xFF = xLL + xCC
% Yield or % Recovery of Crystals:
Sample Problems:
1. One thousand kilograms of a 64% NaNO3 solution in water is at a temperature of
100oC. This is sent to a crystallizer where it is cooled to 30oC. At this temperature, the
solubility of NaNO3 is 96 parts per 100 parts of water. Calculate the amount of
crystals that precipitated if no water evaporates during cooling; if 5% of the original
water evaporates during cooling.
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a) GIVEN:
F = 1000 kg C
64% NaNO3
36% H2O
L
REQUIRED: C if no water evaporates during cooling
𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑁𝑂
𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝐻 𝑂
SOLUTION: Basis: 1000 kg of feed
TMB: →(1)
CMB (NaNO3): →(2)
Solving (1) and (2) simultaneously gives:
b) GIVEN: W = 5% of original water
F = 1000 kg C
64% NaNO3
36% H2O
L
𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑁𝑎𝑁𝑂
( )
TMB:
→ →(1)
CMB (NaNO3): →(2)
2. A 30% solution of Na2CO3 weighing 10,000 lbs is slowly cooled to 20oC. The crystals
formed are sal-soda (Na2CO3.10H2O). The solubility of Na2CO3 at 20oC is 21.5 parts of
anhydrous salt per 100 parts of water. During cooling, 3% of the weight of the original
solution is lost by evaporation. What is the weight of the Na2CO3.10H2O formed?
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GIVEN: W = 3% of original solution
F = 10,000 lb
30% Na2CO3 C, Na2CO3.10H2O
70% H2O
L
𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑁𝑎 𝐶𝑂
REQUIRED: Weight of crystal formed
SOLUTION:
TMB: → →(1)
𝑀𝑊𝑁𝑎
CMB(Na2CO3): 𝑥𝐶
𝐶𝑂
𝑀𝑊𝑁𝑎 𝐶𝑂 𝐻𝑂
→(2)
3. A hot solution of zinc sulphate contains 40% ZnSO4. It is desired to obtain an 80% yield
of ZnSO4.7H2O crystals from this solution by evaporating some water and cooling at
10oC is 2.952 molal, what weight of water must be evaporated from 1,000 lbs of
original solution?
GIVEN: W=?
F = 1,000 lb
40% ZnSO4 C
60% H2O 80% yield ZnSO4.7H2O
L
2.952 molal
REQUIRED: Weight of water evaporated, W
SOLUTION:
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CMB(ZnSO4): →
TMB:
ACTIVITY 5:
1. In a process of producing KNO3 salt, 1000 lb/hr of a feed solution containing 20 wt%
KNO3 is fed to an evaporator, which evaporates some water at 300oF to produce a
50% KNO3 solution. This solution is then fed to a crystallizer at 100oF where crystals
carrying 4% mother liquor are removed. The solubility of KNO3 at 100oF is 0.6 part
KNO3 per 1 part of water. The wet crystals are then sent to a dryer where all the
water is removed. Calculate:
b) The lbs/hr of H2O removed in the evaporator
c) The lbs/hr of H2O removed in the dryer
d) The % recovery of KNO3 from the process.
2. A pan contains 6,420 lbs of an aqueous solution at 104oC. The said solution is 29.6%
anhydrous sodium sulphate, the rest being H2O. The solution is cooled without
evaporation to 25oC at which Na2SO4.10H2O crystals form or separate. The
remaining solution (mother liquor) is found to contain 16.1% anhydrous Na2SO4. (a)
What is the weight of the mother liquor? (b) What is the % yield of the anhydrous
solute? (c) What is the weight composition of the mother liquor?
F. GAS ABSORPTION
In absorption (also called gas absorption, gas scrubbing or gas washing), there
is a transfer of one or more species from the gas phase to a liquid solvent. The species
transferred to the liquid phase are referred to as solutes or absorbate. Absorption involves
no change in the chemical species present in the system.
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Absorption is used to separate gas mixtures, remove impurities, or recover

valuable chemicals. The operation of removing the absorbed solute from the solvent is
called stripping. Absorbers are normally used with strippers to permit regeneration (or
recovery) and recycling of the absorbent.
Most absorption or stripping operations are carried out in counter current flow
processes, in which the gas flow is introduced in the bottom of the column and the liquid
solvent is introduced in the top of the column.
Note: For simplicity, only one component of the gas solute is being absorbed. The other
components of the gas are assumed to be non-soluble in the liquid, and the liquid is non-
volatile.
Weak Liquor / Absorbing liquid,La

Xa Lean Gas / Exit Gas, Va
Ya
GAS
ABSORBER
TOWER
Strong Liquor / Exit Liquid, Lb Rich Gas / Feed Gas, Vb

Xb Yb
Purpose of the unit is to have the liquid absorb a component from the feed gas
The liquid stream flows down the tower by gravity. The gas stream is pumped
upwards through the tower
No carrier gas is transferred in the liquid
Generally, no liquid solvent is transferred to the gas stream
Let: y = mole fraction of solute in V phase

X = mole fraction of solute in L phase
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Total Material Balance: La + Vb = Lb + Va

Solute Balance: xaLa + ybVb = xbLb + yaVa
Amount of solute removed = Amount of solute absorbed
* + * +
Sample Problems:
1. A carbon dioxide absorber uses carbonate solution as absorbent. 2000 kmols/ hr of
flue gas containing 60% CO2 by volume is fed into the absorber. The lean gas leaves
with 3% CO2 by volume. Calculate the quantity, in kg/hr of CO2 absorbed by the
carbonate solution.
GIVEN:
Carbonate solution, La Lean gas, Va

3 vol% CO2
Lb Vb =2000 kmols/hr
𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑛 𝑳𝒂
60 vol% CO2
𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝐶𝑂 𝑿
REQUIRED: Kg/hr of CO2 absorbed
SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour steady-state operation
Let X = CO2 absorbed
TMB:
→(1)
CMB(CO2): →(2)
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Solving the 2 equations simultaneously gives:
2. An absorber is to recover 99% ammonia in the air-ammonia stream (at 1 atm and
120oC) fed to it, using water as the absorbing liquid. The ammonia content of the air
is 20 mol%. For a pure air flowrate of 500 kg/min. (a) What is the molal flow rate of
the exit gas? (b) If water is fed at a rate of 20 gal/ft3 of air mixture fed, how many
gallons are required?
GIVEN:
Water, La Lean gas, Va

Air + NH3
99 % recovery of NH3
Lb
Rich gas, Vb
Water, La +
20 mole% NH3
absorbed NH3 , X
80 mole% air (500 kg/min)
P = 1 atm
T = 120oC
REQUIRED: a) molal flowrate of exit gas,Va
b) vol of water fed
SOLUTION: Basis: 1 minute operation

At the rich gas:
a)
Let X = absorbed NH3 = 99% of NH3 in the rich gas
( )
TMB:
66
b) Assume ideal gas behavior: ( )

( ) ( )
( )
3. An absorption column is fed at the bottom with a gas at a rate of 200 kg/hr
containing 5% benzene and 95% air (by mole). At the top of the column, a non-
volatile absorption oil (MW=230) is introduced at a rate of 2000 kg/hr which contains
0.2% benzene by weight. (a) Determine the composition of the strong liquor in
percent by weight if 5% benzene remains unrecovered. (b) Determine the
composition of the lean gas in %mol.
GIVEN:
Oil, La = 200 kg/hr Lean gas, Va

0.2 mass% C6H6
5 % unrecovered C6H6
Strong liquor, Lb Rich gas, Vb =200 kg/hr

Pure oil + C6H6 5 mole% C6H6
95 mole% air
REQUIRED: a) Composition of strong liquor in mass%

b) composition of the lean gas in %mol.
SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour SSO
a) Convert mole fraction of C6H6 in the rich gas to mass fraction
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At the strong liquor:

Let xb = mass fraction of benzene in the strong liquor
( )
( )
or 1.36 mass% C6H6
Composition of strong liquor:

Components Mass rate, kg/hr Mass%
C6H6 27.5204 1.36
Oil 1996.0396 98.64
kg/hr
b) At the lean gas:

( )
→ 0.703 mass%
( ) ( )
C6H6
Convert mass% of C6H6 to mole%: Composition of lean gas:

0.2625 mole% benzene
( ) 99.7375 mole % air
ACTIVITY 6:
1. An absorption tower is used to recover benzene from air. The rate of the feed gas is
100kmols/hr. The feed gas contains 10% mol benzene. Pure heavy oil is at 80 kmol/hr
is used as the absorbing liquid. It is desired to attain an exit gas composition of 0.5
mole % benzene at the top of the absorber. What is the composition of the liquid
leaving the bottom of the absorber?
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2. A gas contains 30% HCl and 70% air by volume. The gas enters an absorption tower
at 120oF and 743 mmHg. Suppose that 96% of the HCl is removed in the column and
that the gas leaves at 75oF, 740 mmHg. Calculate
a) The lbs HCl removed per 1000 ft3 of entering gas
b) The exit volume of gases per 1000 ft3 of entering gas
c) The percent by volume composition of the exit gas
d) The average molecular weight of the gas
G. EXTRACTION
A material dissolved in a liquid phase is transferred to a second phase in this unit operation.
The extracting solvent should not be soluble in the liquid containing the solute, otherwise,
the transfer will be not effective.
Solvent/ Extracting liquid, Vb Extract, Va

yb ya
EXTRACTOR
Final Underflow/ Raffinate, Lb Feed solution, La

xb xa
TMB: La + Vb = Lb + Va
Solute balance: xaLa + ybVb = xbLb + yaVa
Sample Problems:
1. Soybean is used for making textured vegetable protein contains 15% w oil. Suppose
that 300 lb of solvent containing 2% of oil and 500 lbs soybean flakes are mixed
thoroughly, and the solution is drained. The flakes are still wet with solution and the
oil in the solution is 2.0 lb. Find the weight of the extract and oil composition of the
solution.
69
GIVEN:
Solvent, Vb = 300 lb
Extract, Va
2% oil, 98% pure solvent
Oil + solvent,x
Raffinate, Lb
Soybean flakes,La = 500 lb
Exhausted solid +
15 %wt oil
adhering solution
85 %wt oil-free solid
2 lb oil Solvent = 294 - x
REQUIRED: Weight of Extract, Va and oil composition of the extract
SOLUTION:
CMB(oil):
Let x = lb of solvent in the extract
( )
In a solid-liquid extraction:
Therefore:
Composition of Extract:
Component Weight, lb Weight %
Oil 79 21.6
Pure solvent 286.7407 78.4
70
Composition of Raffinate (Adhering solution)

Component Weight, lb Weight %
Oil 2 21.6
Pure solvent 7.2953 78.4
2. Forty metric tons of sugar beets analyzing 47% water, 40.5% pulp and 12.5% sugar
are to be extracted with pure water. The resulting sugar solution is 17% sugar. 96.5%
of the sugar in the beets is recovered. If each ton of pulp retains 2.5 tons of water,
find the amount of water used and the resulting sugar solution.
GIVEN:
Extract, Va
Pure H2O, Vb
17% sugar (96.5% orig. sugar)
Raffinate, Lb
Sugar beets,La =40 MT
𝑇𝑜𝑛 𝐻 𝑂
47% H2O
𝑇𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑝
40.5% pulp
12.5% sugar
REQUIRED: Amount of water used, Vb and resulting sugar solution or Extract,Va
SOLUTION:
( )
CMB(H2O): ( )
ACTIVITY 7:
1. Naphthalene diamine (NdA) is recovered from a 3.0% w aqueous solution by

extraction with ethyl ether containing 1.25% water, the remainder being ether. The
ether extract is found to contain 15.2% NdA, 3.67% H2O by weight. The final underflow
contains 3.25% ether and 96.75% H2O. For the recovery of 1000 lb NdA, calculate the
b) pounds of NdA solution extracted, and
71
c) the pounds of ether solution used for extraction.
2. 800 kg/hr of Halibut livers containing 23% oil is extracted with 500 kg/hr of ether. The
extracted livers are analyzed and is found to contain 1.12% oil, 32.96% ether and
65.92% oil-free liver. Find the composition and weight of the extract and the %
recovery of oil.
Humidification and Dehumidification
Humidification
- Involves the transfer of water from a liquid phase into a gaseous mixture of air and
water vapour
- Describes the fact that the atmosphere can contain water vapour
Dehumidification
- Involves the reverse transfer, whereby water vapour is transferred from the vapour state
to the liquid state
HUMIDITY – defined as the kg of water vapor contained in kg of dry air
For air-water vapour mixture:
HUMIDITY
where: PA – partial pressure of water vapor
( ) MA – molecular weight of water
MB – molecular weight of air (dry air)
Pt – total pressure
PERCENT HUMIDITY,
where: 𝛾𝑆 – saturation Humidity, the partial
pressure of water vapor is equal to the
vapor pressure of the pure water at the
given temperature and pressure
where: PA - vapor pressure of water
( )
RELATIVE HUMIDITY – ratio of amount of moisture currently in the air and the maximum
moisture the air could hold before condensation.
𝑃𝐴
𝛾𝑅
𝑃𝐴
72
ANTOINNE’S EQUATION – a very useful equation for finding the vapor pressure in air – water
mixture and other gaseous mixture
Where: A, B, and C are constants for a particular substance
Temperatures should be in Degrees Celsius

Antoinne’s Constants for common substances can be found in Perry’s Handbook 8th
Edition. Table 13-4 (page 13-14)
Antoinne’s Constants for water:
A=8.07131
B=1730.630
C=233.426
HUMID HEAT – amount of heat necessary to raise 1 F the temperature of one pound of a dry air
plus whatever water vapor it contains
Note:
Dry air has 0% humidity while saturated air has 100% humidity.
Humidity chart or Psychometric chart – used to determine the properties of a mixture of
air – water and other system.
Wet-bulb temperature – temperature taken from the vapour-gas mixture using a
thermometer with a wick which is wet with the liquid form of the condensable gas where
heat is transferred from the mixture to the bulb.
Dry-bulb temperature – actual gas-vapour mixture temperature which could be
measured with a thermometer which is not fitted with a wick.
o The wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures are unique properties of gas-vapour mixtures.
More theories of this subject is dependent upon rate of heat and mass transfer. (fails
outside the scope of stoichiometry)
Example:
The air in a room is at 26.7 C and a pressure of 101.325 kPa and contains water vapor with a
partial pressure of 2.76 kPa. Calculate the following (use MW dry air = 29g/mole)
a. Humidity,
b. Saturation Humidity,
73
c. Percentage humidity,
d. Percentage relative humidity,
SOLUTION:
a) Humidity,
( ) ( ) ⁄
b) Saturation Humidity,
( )
( ) ( )
c) Percentage humidity,
d) Percentage relative humidity,
H. DRYING with a carrier gas
entering air leaving air

DRYER
dried material wet material
74
The weight of water removed from the wet material is equal to the weight of water “taken
up” by the air (carrier gas).
wt of H20 removed = ( leaving air – entering air) (mass of dry air)
The weight of the dry air entering is equal to the weight of the dry air leaving
wt of dry air leaving – wt of dry air entering
Humidity of the carrier gas leaving the drier is greater than the humidity of the entering
carrier gas due to the higher water content.
leaving air > entering air
Sample Problems:
1. Wet paper is dried from 15% H2O to 0.50% H2O. The drying process is done with air flowing
counter current to the flow of the material. The air enters with a humidity of 0.007 lb H2O per
lb of dry air and leaves at 0.028 lb H2O per lb of dry air. For every 1000 lbs/hr of wet paper to
be processed, what mass flowrate of inlet air in lbs/hr must be maintained?
GIVEN:
Entering air Leaving air

𝛾 lb H2O/lb dry air 𝛾 lb H2O/lb dry air
Dried paper Wet paper, 1000 lb/hr

0.5% H2O 15% H2O
REQUIRED: Lbs/hr of inlet air
Dried paper Wet paper, 1000 lb/hr

0.5% H2O 15% H2O
( ) ( )
75

( )
( )
2. A solid material with 15% by weight water is dried to 7% by weight water. The entering air
used is at a dry bulb temperature of 170 F and pressure of 14.7 psi and a wet bulb
temperature of 90 F. the air leaving the drier is saturated with vapour at 120 F.
a. How many pounds of water are removed from 100 lbs of wet material fed to the
drier?
b. How many pounds of air are entering the drier per 100 lbs of wet material?
c. How many pounds of air are leaving the drier per 100 lbs of wet material?
d. What is the volume (ft3) of air entering the drier?
Note: entering air @ Tdb = 170 F and Twb = 90 F, = 0.012 lbs H2O / lbs dry air
leaving air saturated at 120 F, = 0.0815 lbs H2O / lbs dry air
GIVEN:

Dried material Solid material, 100 lbs

7% H2O 15% H2O
76
Solution:
a) Lbs of water removed, S

S
Dried material Solid material, 100 lbs

7% H2O 15% H2O
( ) ( )
b) lbs of entering air

( )
( )
c) Lbs of leaving air
d) Volume(ft3) of air entering the dryer

→ Tdb
( )
( )( )( )
77
ACTIVITY 8:
1. A tunnel drier is used to dry an organic paint pigment. 1000 lbs/hr of pigment containing
10% water is to be dried up to 0.50% water. The pigment is passed counter current to air
which enters at 760 mmHg, 140 F and 10% humidity. The leaving air is at 750 mmHg, 96 F
and 70% humidity. What flowrate of air must be maintained?
Note: entering air @ 760 mmHg and 170 F, H = 0.012 lbs H2O / lbs dry air
leaving air at 750 mmHg, 95 F, H = 0.026 lbs H2O / lbs dry air
2. Slab building boards contain 17% moisture by weight. They are dried to a water content
of 1% by weight by circulating hot air over them. The fresh air contains 0.017 lb of
moisture per pound of dry air. The exhaust air contains 0.075 lb of moisture per pound of
dry air. How many cubic feet of fresh air at standard conditions must be used per ton of
the building boards?
3. To condition the air in an office building in the winter, 1000 cm3 of moist air at 101 kPa and
22 C enters the process. The air leaves the process at 98 kPa. How many kg of water
vapour are added to each kg of wet air entering the process? Partial pressure of water in
entering air is 1.31 kPa; Partial pressure of water in leaving air is 18.14 kPa.
78
MODULE 2 UNIT 2: MASS BALANCES INVOLVING MULTIPLE UNIT SYSTEMS
Topic Learning Outcomes: At the end of this module, each student should be able to:
TLO3: Analyze and solve material balance problems involving multiple equipment process
without chemical reaction.
Sample Problems:
1. In the tissue paper machine, stream N contains 85% fiber. Find the unknown fiber values
(all values in the figure are in kg) in kg for each stream.
SOLUTION:
From New Pulp: Fiber 85%
Water 15% 18 kg
Therefore:
So
From L:
P N TMB: 𝑁𝑃 𝐿
𝑃 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔
𝑭𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝑷 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝟏 𝟐𝟔 𝒌𝒈
L
79
TMB: 𝑅 𝑃 𝐸
R P
𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝐸
𝐸 𝑘𝑔
𝑭𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝑬 𝑘𝑔 𝑘𝑔 𝟏 𝟎𝟖 𝒌𝒈
E
2. Sugar cane juice is sent to a series of three evaporators to reduce water. The sugar cane
juice which is 87.3% H2O is fed to the first evaporator at 5000 kg/hr. Equal amounts of
water is removed in each evaporator. The concentrated juice in the last evaporator
produced 36.72% H2O. Calculate the following:
a. Flowrate of the concentrated juice out from the third evaporator in kg /hr.
b. Amount of water removed in each evaporator in kg/hr.
c. Concentration of H2O (% by weight) of the juice out from the second
evaporator.
GIVEN:
H2O, W H2O, W H2O, W
5000 kg/hr
E1 E2 E3 Concentrated juice, P
Sugar cane juice
36.72 % H2O
87.3 % H2O
a) Flowrate of the concentrated juice out from the third evaporator in kg /hr, P
Overall TMB:
CMB(H2O):
b) Amount of water removed in each evaporator in kg/hr, W
c) Concentration of H2O (% by weight) of the juice out from the second evaporator.
80
W 𝑋 𝑊 𝑃 𝑘𝑔 𝑟
H2O balance: 𝑥𝐻 𝑂
𝑥𝐻 𝑂
X E3 P Therefore: 72.81 % H2O from E2
3. Acetone is used in the manufacture of many chemicals and also a solvent. In its latter
role, many reactions are placed on the release of acetone vapor to the environment.
You are asked to design an acetone recovery system having the flow sheet illustrated
below. Make a material balance for the system shown (Solve for W, A, G, F, B, and D). All
concentrations shown of both gases and liquids are specified in weight percent (or
weight fraction) to make calculation simple.
Air, A kg/hr
Water (100%)
Air 99.5%
W kg/hr
Water 0.5%
CONDENSER
Distillate, D kg/hr
ABSORBER Acetone 99.0%
Water 1.0%
DISTILLATION
F kg/hr COLUMN
Acetone 19.0%
Water 81.0%
Feed, G kg/hr
Acetone 3.0% Bottom, B kg/hr
Air 95.0% Acetone 4.0%
Water 2.0% Water 96.0%
81
SOLUTION: Let Feed, G = 100 kg/hr
At the absorber:
TMB:
CMB(Air):
Acetone balance: 𝐹
𝒌𝒈
𝑭 𝟏𝟓 𝟕𝟖𝟗𝟓
𝒉𝒓
𝒌𝒈
Therefore: 𝑾 𝟏𝟏 𝟐𝟔𝟔𝟗 𝒉𝒓
At the distillation column:
TMB:
Acetone balance:
4. A simplified flow sheet for the manufacture of sugar is shown in the figure below. Sugar
cane is fed to a mill where syrup is squeezed out and the resulting ―bagasse‖ contains
80% pulp. The syrup (E) containing finely divided pieces of pulp are fed to a screen which
removes all the pulp and produces a clear syrup (H) containing 15% sugar and 85% water.
The evaporator makes ―heavy‖ syrup and the crystallizer produces 1000 lb/hr of sugar
crystals.
a) Find the water removed in the evaporator, lb/hr
b) Find the rate of cane sugar fed to the unit, lb/hr
c) Of the sugar fed in the mill, what percentage is lost with the bagasse?
d) What is the percentage recovery of sugar?
e) Find the composition of the waste stream, G
82

a. Water removed in the evaporator, lb/h
Around the Crystallizer:
TMB:
Sugar balance:
Around the Evaporator:
TMB:
Sugar balance:
b. Rate of cane sugar fed to the unit in lb/hr, F
Around the screen:
TMB:
Pulp balance:
83
Around the Mill:
TMB:
Pulp balance:
c. Percentage of the sugar lost in the bagasse
Sugar balance:
d. Percentage recovery of sugar
e. Composition of the waste stream, G
Around the screen:
Sugar balance:
Composition of waste stream, G

Component ̇ Wt%
Pulp 0.95*1152.2634=1094.6502 95%
Sugar 16.4609 1.4286%
Water 41.1253 3.5691%
G = 1152.2634
84
ACTIVITY 1:
1. A labelled flowchart of a continuous steady-state two-unit process is shown below. Each

stream contains two components, A and B, in different proportions. Three streams whose
flow rates and/or compositions are not known are labelled 1, 2 and 3.
Calculate the unknown flow rates and compositions of streams 1, 2 and 3.
2. Liquid acetone (C3H6O) is fed at the rate of 400L/min into a heated chamber, where it
evaporates into a nitrogen stream. The gas leaving the heater is diluted by another
nitrogen stream flowing at a measured rate of 419 m3 (STP) / min. The combined gases
are then compressed to a total pressure of 6.3 atm gauge at a temperature of 325 oC.
The partial pressure of acetone in this stream is 501 mmHg. Atmospheric pressure is 763
mmHg. The density of liquid acetone is 0.791 g/cm3.
a. What is the molar composition of the stream leaving the compressor?
b. What is the volumetric flowrate (m3/min) of the nitrogen entering the evaporator if
the temperature and pressure of this stream are 27 C and 475 mmHg gauge.
3. NaCl crystals are produced from 1000 kg of solution containing 10% NaCl, 1% KOH, and
89% H2O. The solution is first sent to an evaporator where 750 kg of water from the
wtsolution is removed. The hot concentrated solution is sent to a crystallizer where the
solution is cooled to 20 C and NaCl crystals are precipitated. No water evaporates.
Each kilogram of crystals carries with it 0.10 kg of adhering mother liquor. The wet crystals
are then treated in a dryer where 95% of the water is removed. Calculate:
a. The compositions of the concentrated solution from the evaporator
b. The composition of the final product and
c. The percentage recovery of NaCl from the original solution.
The solubility of NaCl is 36 grams NaCl / 100 grams H2O at 20 C.
85

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Saint Louis University

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE

MODULE 2: FUNDAMENTALS OF MATERIAL BALANCE

A material balance of an industrial process is an exact accounting of all the

Law of Conservation of Mass

―There is no observable change in the quantity of matter during a chemical reaction or

Statements based on the law of conservation of mass are examples of mass

The material (mass) balance equation has the simple form:

INPUT = OUTPUT + ACCUMULATION

Σ (mass of entering = Σ (mass of leaving + mass accumulated in the

Σ mass of component in = Σ mass of component in + mass of component

Input + Generation = Output + Consumption + Accumulation

Processes may be classified as batch, continuous or semi-batch and as either

General Rules to Solve Material Balance Problems

MODULE 2 UNIT 1: MATERIAL BALANCE WITHOUT CHEMICAL REACTION INVOLVING

MATERIAL (MASS) BALANCES INVOLVING STEADY-STATE PHYSICAL PROCESSES

A. MIXING (Blending) – process of combining two or more materials to produce a

Feed 2 Process description:

GIVEN: W, pure water

F1 MIXER Product, P = 2500 lb

SOLUTION: Basis: 2500 lb of product

Let: F1 = feed rate of 25% NaOH solution

Component Mass Balance(NaOH): lb

Total Material Balance (TMB):

SOLUTION: Basis: 1000 lb of product

CMB (Nitrocellulose): → (2)

Solving the two equations simultaneously gives:

3. A liquid adhesive, which is used to make laminated boards, consists of a polymer

SOLUTION: Basis: 3000 kg of product

Wet solids, F Dried solids, P

Total Material Balance: F=S + P

Amount of solvent removed(Ratio method): ⌊ ⌋= ⌊ ⌋

2 ways of expressing moisture content:

mass of bone-dry mat’l

Wet lumber, F= 2500 lb

SOLUTION: Basis: 2500 of wet lumber, F

Wet paper, F Dried paper, P

REQUIRED: Kg of dried paper produced per hour, P

SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour steady-state operation

Using ratio method:

REQUIRED: Heating cost per 100 lb of initial wet paper

SOLUTION: Basis: 100 lb of wet paper, F

Total Material Balance: F=S+P

Amount of solvent removed(Ratio method): ⌊ ⌋= ⌊ ⌋

SOLUTION: Basis: P = 8000 lb

2. An evaporator is designed to remove 60% of the original water content of a solution

REQUIRED: Kg/hr of concentrated solution, P and its composition

SOLUTION: 1 hour steady-state operation

→ 21.74% solids in the product

Total Material Balance: F=D+B

SOLUTION: Basis: 80 kmol/hr of feed, F

2. A mixture of acetone (C3H6O) and isopropanol (C3H8O) containing 50 mole%

GIVEN: Distillate, D = 1000 kg

SOLUTION: Basis 1000 kg of D

At the bottoms product, B:

CMB (C3H6O): →(2)

Solving the two equations simultaneously gives:

REQUIRED: Mass flowrate of distillate D and the composition (mass%) of B

SOLUTION: Basis: 1 hour steady-state condition

TMB: Composition of Bottom product

C6H6 63.0144 6.4251

C7H8 917.7339 93.5749

1. A continuous fractionating distillation column is used to separate 3.87 kg/s of 40%