AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY, IKOT AKPADEN. MKPAT ENIN L.G.

A
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL/PETROCHEMICAL ENGINEERING
FIRST SEMESTER, 2021/2022 SESSION
ASSIGNMENT ON CPE 351 (CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROCESS CALCULATIONS)

QUESTION 1:
Propylene oxide (C3H8O) is produced by reacting propylene (C3H6) with oxygen and hydrogen. A side reaction
results in reacting propylene with hydrogen and produces propane. A mixture of 35 mol/h Air, 4 mol/h
propylene, and 12.6 mol/h hydrogen (H2) along with 5000 mol/h carbon dioxide (CO2 is used as inert solvent) is
fed to a continuous reactor. The percent single-pass conversion of limiting reactant is 10%. The fractional yield
of C3H6 to C3H8O is 0.80 (i.e., fraction of moles of C 3H6 reacted to produce C3H8O). The reactor effluents are
separated where gases leave the top of the column. Propylene, propane, and propylene oxide (C 3H6, C3H8, and
C3H8O) are condensed and removed from the bottom of the column as liquids. Draw and label the process flow
diagram (PFD) and also Calculate the mole flow rate of each component in the effluent streams.

The following reactions are taking place:

QUESTION 2:
Ethylene oxide (C2H4O) is formed by the partial oxidation of ethylene in a gas phase reaction. In this process,
1000 mol/h of pure ethylene is fed to the system. It is mixed with air. The feed rate of the air is such that the
molar ratio of ethylene in the fresh feed to oxygen is 2:1. The ethylene single-pass conversion is 25%. The
stream leaving the reactor contains ethylene, ethylene oxide, water, CO 2, and N2 only; all of the oxygen is
consumed. The reactor effluent goes to a separation unit in which the ethylene and nitrogen are separated from
the other gases. A portion of the ethylene and nitrogen stream is purged, and the remainder is mixed with the
fresh ethylene and air streams to form the reactor feed. The remaining gases (ethylene oxide, water, and CO 2)
are sent to other units for further processing. A total of 50 mol/h of CO2 appears in this stream.

The gas phase reaction proceeds according to the following stoichiometry:

Draw and label the process flow diagram (PFD). Determine the amount of ethylene oxide is produced as shown
in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Production of formaldehyde.

QUESTION 3:
Benzene is produced using hydrodealkylation process. During the hydrodealkylation of toluene (C 6H5CH3), both
benzene (C6H6) and methane (CH4) are produced.

100 kmol/h of pure liquid toluene is fed along with 200 kmol/h of pure hydrogen gas. These streams are
combined with recycle streams and fed to a reactor. In the reactor, 50% of the toluene fed to the reactor is
consumed. The effluent from the reactor enters a vapor–liquid separator. All of the hydrogen and methane gas
leave the separator in the vapor stream; all of the liquids toluene and benzene leave the separator in the liquid
stream. The liquid stream then enters a second separator in which all of the benzene leaves in one stream and all
of the toluene leaves in the other stream. The benzene stream leaves the process as a product stream. The
toluene stream is completely recycled by mixing it with the toluene in fresh fed to the process. The vapor stream
from the separator is split into two equal streams. One of these streams is recycled and combined with the
hydrogen fresh feed stream, and the other stream is sent to another process unit for further processing. Draw and
label the process flow diagram (PFD). Also determine the following:

(a) The molar flow rate of benzene produced.

(b) The composition of first separator vapor stream.
(c) The toluene is actually fed to the reactor.
(d) The component molar flow rate of the vapor stream fed to the reactor.