Tutorial-I

Introduction to Chemical Engineering(CET-201)

Department of Chemical Engineering
National Institute of Technology, Srinagar
Date: 22-09-2021

Note: Submission is not required.

1. A process for converting coal to diesel fuel is shown in the simplified flowsheet below.
Coal has the generic formula Cx Cy Cz where x > y and z << x,y. Coal also contains
some inorganic matter, called ash. Diesel fuel has the generic formula Ca Hb .

Figure 1: Adapted from a process by W. L. Luyben and L. A. Wenzel, 1988. Chemical

Process Analysis: Mass and Energy Balances, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, pp.
46-9.)
 (a) Identify the units of this process.
(b) Write the overall reaction of the process.
(c) Write the reactions that take place in each of the units you identify as reactors.

2. A simplified flowsheet of the process to make ethylene oxide (C2 H4 O) from ethylene
(C2 H4 ) is shown below. Two reactions occur in the reactor:

2 C2 H4 + O2 −−→ 2 C2 H4 O
C2 H4 + 3 O2 −−→ 2 CO2 + 2 H2 O

Both reactions are incomplete; neither reactant is completely consumed in the

reactor. Because ethylene oxide is very soluble in water, it can be extracted by
bubbling the gaseous reactor effluent through water. Ethylene oxide is absorbed into
the water. Ethylene oxide is then stripped from the water by steam.

(a) What compounds constitute stream 3?

(b) What compounds constitute stream 4?
(c) What purpose is served by stream 5?
(d) Add one or more units to produce pure C2 H4 O from stream 10 in an energy
efficient manner.
Indicate the compounds present in each stream and label each unit.

H2 O C2 H4 O CO2
◦
melting point ( C) 0 -111 -57 (at 5.2 atm)
boiling point (◦ C) 100 14 -79 (sublimes)

Table 1: Properties of compounds at 1 atm

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3. Sulfur dioxide can be produced by oxidizing sulfur:

S + O2 −−→ SO2

Because the reaction is highly exothermic, the flow to the reactor must contain cool
inert gas to maintain a low temperature in the reactor. Consider the two process
schemes diagrammed on the following page. Scheme I uses N2 as the inert gas in the
reactor and Scheme II uses SO2 as the inert gas in the reactor.

(a) In which sequence is the separation the easiest? State at least two reasons for
your choice. Use the table of thermodynamic data
(b) Schemes I and II assume that O2 and S enter the reactor in exact stoichiometric
ratio. Consider the consequences of a nonstoichiometric ratio of O2 and S. In
which scheme is the product purity least sensitive to an excess of air? Explain
your choice.

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4. A process for producing ammonia from air, water, and methane was outlined in this
class lectures. Draw the flowsheet for the entire process. Label the units and list the
components in each stream. Where appropriate, use the proper symbol to identify a
unit operation. Finally, improve the energy efficiency of the process by adding heat
exchangers before the air condenser and the ammonia reactor.

5. Newly formed steel has an oxide crust that may be removed by washing in sulfuric
acid:

Fe with FeO crust + H2 SO4 −−→ Fe + FeSO4 + H2 O

The HCN is dissolved in water and is in excess. FeSO4 is soluble in water and soluble
in acidic solution. We wish to recover the Fe and the H2 SO4 with the following
reactions:

FeSO4 + 2 HCN – · Fe(CN)2 + H2 SO4

The HCN is bubbled into the FeSO4 solution and is in excess. Note that HCN is
highly toxic. Assume the FeSO4 is entirely converted to Fe(CN)2 . Fe(CN)2 is
insoluble in water and insoluble in acidic solution. In water, Fe(CN)2 is entirely
converted to FeO.

Fe(CN)2 + H2 O −−→ 2 HCN + FeO

Solid FeO may be recycled to the smelting process, which converts iron oxides to iron
metal.

(a) Design a process based on the above reactions. Indicate the compounds present
in each stream of your process and label each unit.
(b) Assume further that the steel is contaminated with grease. The generic reaction
of grease with sulfuric acid is
grease + H2 SO4 −−→ CO2 + H2 O + SO2

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 CO2 and SO2 do not react with HCN. Modify your process to accommodate
grease on the steel. Draw only the modified portion of your process; you need
not redraw the entire process.
(c) Assume the steel contains no grease but is contaminated with calcium oxide.
The pertinent reactions are
CaO + H2 SO4 −−→ CaSO4 + H2 O,
CaSO4 + 2 HCN −−→ Ca(CN)2 + H2 SO4 ,
Ca(CN)2 + H2 O 5 −−→ CaO + 2 HCN ·
Both CaSO4 and Ca(CN)2 salts are soluble in water and soluble in acidic
solutions. Modify your process to accommodate CaO on the steel. Draw only
the modified portion of your process; you need not redraw the entire process.

6. n-heptane is used as a solvent in a process. The n-heptane used must be 99.999%

pure when it enters the process. During the process, the n-heptane acquires an
impurity: 10% i-propanol, or isopropyl alcohol. In order to recycle n-heptane in the
process, it first needs to be purified of the i-propanol. To separate n-heptane from
i-propanol, the following process is used:
The mixture of 90% n-heptane and 10% i-propanol is put into a separator. The
boiling point and melting point of n-heptane is 98.4◦ C and -90.6◦ C, respectively and
that of i-propanol is 97.8◦ C and -126.2◦ C, respectively. The n-heptane rich stream
coming out of the separator is then sent to washer wherein it is washed with
n-heptane to wash away i-propanol. The other stream coming out of separator which
consists majorly of i-propanol is sent to waste. In the washer, the pure n-heptane is
separated out and used wash liquid which is composed of n-heptane and i-propanol is
recycled back to the separator. A purge stream is taken from the recycle inorder to
decrease the amount of i-propanol that enters the separator.

(a) Which separation process is used in the separator? Justify your answer.
(b) What is the temperature of the separator? Justify your answer.
(c) Draw a neatly labeled flow sheet for the above mentioned process.

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