Worksheet 1.

2
BINARY DISTILLATION
CH138P
Name:
SEPARATION PROCESSES
Hannah Adelaiynne L. Geromo Page 1 of 3

Present clean and clear solutions to the following problems. Highlight your final answer by enclosing it within a box.

1. Determine the composition of the phases in the following systems:

a. A liquid phase in equilibrium with a vapor of 40 mole percent A and 60 mole percent B, where the relative volatility
of A to B is 1.9.

b. The liquid and vapor phases for a mixture of ethanol and water with an overall composition of 60 mole percent
ethanol at 175 F and atmospheric pressure.

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2. A liquid mixture containing 25 mol% benzene and 75 mol% ethyl alcohol, in which components are miscible in all proportions,
is heated at a constant pressure of 1 atm from a temperature of 60C to 90 C. What is the composition of the residual liquid
when 90 mol% has evaporated? Assume that all vapor formed is retained within the apparatus and that it is completely
mixed and in equilibrium with the residual liquid.

3. An equimolar ethanol-water mixture is to be separated in a flash distillation chamber operating at 101.3 kPa. What is the
maximum vapor composition and the minimum liquid composition that can be obtained if V/F is allowed to vary? If V/F is 1/3,
what are the liquid and vapor compositions?

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4. We wish to separate a mixture of acetone and ethanol using a distillation column with a total condenser. The desired acetone
concentration in the distillate and the bottoms are 0.8 and 0.1, respectively. L/D is equal to 2. 80% of the saturated liquid
feed flow to the column exits the column as distillate. Use the Lewis-Sorel Method to determine the composition of the liquid
leaving the 4th stage. The feed is introduced on the 3rd stage.

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For the next 4 problems. The vapor-liquid equilibrium data for heptane – ethylbenzene at 1 atm pressure is given below:

x 0 0.10 0.20 0.40 0.50 0.60 0.70 0.90 1

y 0 0.25 0.45 0.65 0.74 0.82 0.86 0.96 1

An equimolar mixture of heptane and ethylbenzene is to be distilled at 1 atm pressure. The desired concentration of
heptane in the distillate is 90 %mol and that of ethylbenzene in the bottoms is 94%mol.

Latent heat, kJ/kmol Heat capacity, kJ/kmol-K

Heptane 35,000 220
Ethylbenzene 40,000 183

Feed temperature 30C

Condenser temperature 95C
Reboiler temperature 99C

5. Determine the minimum reflux ratio if the feed is:

a. a saturated liquid
b. a saturated vapor
c. an equilibrium mixture of liquid and vapor, with 60% vapor

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6. Determine the minimum number of theoretical plates using:
a. the McCabe-Thiele graphical method
b. the Fenske equation

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7. For a saturated vapor feed and a reflux ratio that is twice the minimum, determine:
a. the number of theoretical stages using the McCabe-Thiele graphical method
b. the optimum feed stage location
c. the actual number of stages if the efficiency is 60%

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8. Determine the condenser and reboiler duties.

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