Principles of Chemical Engineering

(BIT1008)

Module-2:
Material Balance without Chemical
Reaction

Abhishek Sinha
Assistant Professor
Department of Biotechnology
School of Bio-Sciences & Technology
VIT University, Vellore
 Law of Conservation of Mass
 Material balance is based on application of law of conservation of
mass:
“Mass is neither created nor destroyed”

 Some important terms to remember:

 Process
 System
 System boundary
 Open system
 Closed system
 Steady state
 Equilibrium

 Material balance  accounting for material (just like accounting for

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money)
 Process – series of actions or operations that results in an end
product.

 System – any part of the universe identified or is under investigation

- any arbitrary portion or whole, of a process set out for investigation

 System Boundary – boundary surrounding a system under

investigation and to delineate the system separate from its
surroundings

 Open System – system where material is transferred across system

boundaries

 Closed System – no material transfer during time interval of interest

 Steady State – If all properties of a system (T, P, Conc., V, Mass, etc.)

do not vary with time, process  steady state
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 Process Flow Sheet

 Define: SHEET (blue print)  FLOW  (SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS)

 PROCESS

 Complexity of large scale manufacturing processes 

communicating info requires special method – PROCESS FLOW SHEET

 Simplified pictorial representations of processes  provide relevant

process info and data

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They can vary in complexity from simple block
diagrams:

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 … to highly complex schematic drawings showing main and
auxiliary process equipments such as pipes, valves, pumps and by-
pass loops.

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 Concept of Material Balance

 General mass balance equation

 Accumulation refers change in mass; positive/ negative

 Negative accumulation  depletion of pre-existing reserves

 Mass refers to: total mass OR mass of a particular

component/molecule/ atom/ biomass

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Example: A continuous process is set up for treatment of wastewater.
Each day, 105 kg cellulose and 103 kg bacteria enter in the feed stream,
while 104 kg cellulose and 1.5 x 104 kg bacteria leave in the effluent.
The rate of cellulose digestion by the bacteria is 7 x 104 kg d-1. The rate
of bacterial growth is 2 x 104 kg d-1; the rate of cell death by lysis is 5 x
102 kg d-1. Write balances for cellulose and bacteria in the system.

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 Steady State Material Balance
 If a continuous process is at steady state, the accumulation term
becomes zero.

 Under these conditions: General steady state mass balance equation

 Also applicable for entire duration of batch and fed-batch processes,

where mass out is the total mass harvested from the system => no
accumulation!

 If mass balance is applied to a component which is neither a reactant

nor a product  generation and consumption terms  ZERO

 Similar case with generation and consumption of atomic species: C,

N, O  generation and consumption terms  ZERO
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 Procedure for Material Balance Calculations
1. Draw a clear process flow diagram showing all relevant
information

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2. Select a set of units and state them clearly

3. Select a basis for calculation and state it clearly

4. State all assumptions applied to the problem

5. Identify which components (if any) of the system are

involved in reaction

6. Identify which components (if any) of the system are NOT

involved in reaction

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Q. The analysis of a sample of Babul bark yield 5.8% moisture, 12.6%
tannin, 8.3% non-tannin organic matter and the rest lignin. In order to
extract tannin out of the bark, a counter current extraction process is
employed. The residue from the extraction process is analyzed and
found to contain 0.92% tannin and 0.65% non-tannin organic matter
on a dry basis. Find the percentage of tannin recovered on the basis of
the original tannin present in the bark. All analyses are given on mass
basis.

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Q. Dry neem leaves were subjected to extraction with super critical
carbon dioxide at 200 bar and 333 K (60°C). Dry leaves were analyzed
to contain 0.46% α-tocopherol and 0.01% β-carotene. Extract is found
to contain 15.5% α-tocopherol and 0.41% β-carotene. All percentages
are by mass. If β-carotene content of the leached residue is nil,
calculate
(a) the mass of extract phase per kg of dry leaves, and
(b) %recovery of α-tocopherol .

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Q. A fermentation slurry containing Streptomyces kanamyceticus cells
is filtered using a continuous rotary vacuum filter. 120 kg h-1 slurry is
fed to the filter; 1 kg slurry contains 60 g cell solids. To improve
filtration rates, particles of diatomaceous earth filter aid are added at a
rate of 10 kg h-1. The concentration of kanamycin in the slurry is 0.05%
by weight. Liquid filtrate is collected at a rate of 112 kg h-1; the
concentration of kanamycin in the filtrate is 0.045% (w/w). Filter cake
containing cells and filter aid is continuously removed from the filter
cloth.
(a) What percentage liquid is the filter cake?
(b) If the concentration of kanamycin in the filter cake liquid is the
same as in the filtrate, how much kanamycin is absorbed per kg
filter aid?

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Q. Corn steep liquor contains 2.5% invert sugars and 50% water; the
rest can be considered solids. Beet molasses containing 50% sucrose,
1% invert sugars, 18% water and the remainder solids, is mixed with
corn steep liquor in a mixing tank. Water is added to produce a diluted
sugar mixture containing 2% (w/w) invert sugars. 125 kg corn steep
liquor and 45 kg molasses are fed into the tank.
(a) How much water is required?
(b) What is the concentration of sucrose in the final mixture?

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Q. A 100 kg mixture of 27.8% of acetone (A) and 72.2% of chloroform
(C) by mass is to be batch extracted with a mixed solvent at 295K. The
mixed solvent of an unknown composition is known to contain water
(S1) and acetic acid (S2). The original mixture and the mixed solvent
are mixed and shaken well, allowed to attain equilibrium and
separated into two layers. The composition of the two layers are given
below:
Composition (mass%)
Layer A C S1 S2
UPPER (U) 7.5 3.5 57.4 31.6
LOWER (L) 20.3 67.3 2.8 9.6
a) U=? L=?
b) S:F =? ; S1+S2=S
c) S1 = ? %w/w
Find: d) S2 = ? %w/w
a) The quantities of the two layers.
b) The mass ratio of the mixed solvent to the original mixture
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c) The composition of the mixed solvent (w/w)
Q. It required to make 1000 kg mixed acid containing 60% H2SO4 , 32%
HNO3 and 8% water by blending (i) spent acid containing 11.3% HNO3,
44.4% H2SO4 and 44.3% H2O., (ii) aqueous 90% HNO3 and (iii) aqueous
98% H2SO4. All percentages are by mass. Calculate the quantities of
each of the three acids required for blending.

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Q. A battery of cylindrical hollow-fibre membranes is operated at steady state to
concentrate a bacterial suspension from a fermenter. 350 kg/min fermenter broth is
pumped through a stack of hollow fibre membranes. The broth contains 1% bacteria;
the rest may be considered water. Buffer solution enters the annular space around
the membrane tubes at a flow rate of 80 kg/min. Since broth in the membrane tubes
is under pressure, water is forced across the membrane into the buffer. Cells in the
broth are too large to pass through the membrane and pass out of the tubes as a
concentrate. The aim of the membrane system is to produce a cell suspension
containing 6% biomass.

(a) What is the flow rate from the annular space? [371.67 kg/min]
(b) What is the flow rate of cell suspension from the membrane tubes? [58.33
kg/min]

Assume that the cells are not active and that the membrane does not allow any
molecules other than water to pass from annulus into the inner cylinder or vice
versa.

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 Recycling Operations
 Commonly encountered in unit operations and chemical reactions for
a variety of reasons.

 Recycle: returning material, that leaves a process, back to the

process for further processing

 Recycle stream: a process stream that returns material downstream

of a process unit back to the process unit

 Key point for recycle base problem: recycle system operates under
steady state i.e. No build up or depletion of material takes place in
the recycle stream

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 Some of the important reasons for recycling are:
1. Cells  catalysts in fermentation process advantageous to
recycle biomass from spent fermentation broth (e.g. using
centrifugation/ filtration)
2. To utilize valuable component reactant to their max and avoid
wastage
3. To utilize the heat being lost in the outgoing stream
4. To improve performance of the equipment
5. To control an operating variable in a reaction
6. To improve selectivity of a product
7. To improve safety of the chemical process
8. To minimize waste generation

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Q. A distillation column separates 10,000 kg/hr of a 50% benzene-50%
toluene mixture. The product D recovered from the condenser at the
top of the column contains 95% benzene and the bottom W from the
column contains 96% toluene. The vapor stream V entering the
condenser from the top of the column is 8000 kg/hr. A portion of the
product from the condenser is returned to the column as reflux R and
the rest is withdrawn for use elsewhere. Assume that the composition
of the streams at the top of the column (V), the product withdrawn (D)
and the reflux (R) are identical because the V stream is condensed
completely. Find the ratio of the amount refluxed R to the product
withdrawn (D).

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Q.

Ans.
(a) 6.1% ethanol; 93.9% water
(b) 2750 kg/hr
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