CHAPTER THREE

MATERIAL BALANCES FOR MULTI-UNIT

SYSTEMS
 MATERIAL BALANCES FOR MULTISYSTEMS
• Learning Outcomes:

• At the end of chapter three (3) every student is should be able to:

i. Compute material balance on multiple process units.

ii. Explain the concept of Recycle and Bypass in material balance calculations
in systems.

iii. Compute material balance on systems with recycle and bypass

 MATERIAL BALANCES FOR MULTISYSTEMS
• A unit is regarded as a single but complete component of a larger or more
complex system.

• A system is a set of units working together as part of a mechanism or an

interconnecting network.

• A multi system consist of two or more systems operating together in an

interconnecting network.
BALANCES ON MULTIPLE-UNIT PROCESS SYSTEMS
• The inputs and outputs to systems are the process streams that intersects the
system boundary.
• The boundary is any portion of a process that can be enclosed with a
hypothetical box. As shown below:
 BALANCE MULTIPLE UNIT PROCESS SYSTEMS
KEY:
• Boundary A encloses the entire process;

• The system defined by boundary A has as inputs Feed Streams 1,2, and 3 and
Product Streams 1, 2, and 3.

• Balances on this system are referred to as overall balances.

• The stream that connects Units 1 and 2 is internal to this system. This would
not enter into overall system balances.
 BALANCE MULTIPLE UNIT PROCESS SYSTEMS
KEY:
• Boundary B encloses a feed stream mixing point.

• Boundary C encloses Unit 1 (one input stream and two output streams).

• Boundary D encloses a product stream by pass.

• Boundary D encloses a stream splitting point (one input stream and two
output streams).

• Boundary E encloses Unit 2 (two input streams and one output stream).
 EXAMPLE 3.1
Example 3.1: A labeled 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 labeled 1, 2, and 3. Calculate the unknown flow rates and
compositions of streams 1, 2, and 3.
 BASIS GIVEN
• The systems about which balances might be written are shown on the
following representation of the flowchart:
• The outer boundary encompasses the entire process and has as input and
output streams all of the streams that enter and leave the process. Two of the
interior boundaries surround individual process units, and the third encloses a
stream junction point.
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
 BYPASS AND RECYCLE STREAMS
RECYCLE:
• A recycle stream is where a portion of the outlet of a process unit is
combined with fresh feed and sent into the same unit again.

Concept:
• In a chemical process A to B, some amount of chemical A is found in the
product B.
• Any amount of chemical A that leaves with the product represents an
unreacted fraction of A, therefore comes as wasted resource.
• A way to separate most or all of the unconsumed reactant from the product
stream is determined.
• Finally the resulting relatively pure product is sold and the unconsumed
reactant is recycled back to the reactor.
 REASONS FOR RECYCLING.
• To Recover Catalysts:

• A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction

without undergoing any permanent chemical change.

• The are expensive so it would be very economically wise to recover them.

• They may be recovered with the unconsumed reactants or recovered

separately in special facilities designed for this purpose.
 REASONS FOR RECYCLING.
• To Control Process Variables:
• A process variable is the current measured value of a particular part of a
process which is being monitored or controlled.

• For instance in a reaction where a lot of heat is produced, the reactor is

difficult and expensive to control.

• To make this work, a portion of the reactor effluent is recycled into the inlet.

• This acts as a diluents for the reactants and the recycled material also serves
as a capacitance for the heat released.
 REASONS FOR RECYCLING
• Dilution of a process stream:

• Suppose a slurry (a suspension of solids in a liquid) is fed to a filter.

• If the concentration of solids in the slurry is too high, the slurry is difficult to
handle and the filter will not operate properly.

• Rather than diluting the feed with fresh liquid, a portion of the filtrate can be
recycled to dilute the feed to the desired solids concentration.
 REASONS FOR RECYCLING
• Circulation of Working Fluids:

• The most common example of this application is the refrigeration cycle used
in household refrigerators and air conditioners.

• In these devices, a single material is reused (the refrigerant – the gas)

indefinitely, with only small makeup quantities being added to the system to
replenish working fluid that may be lost through leaks.
 Bypass
A bypass stream is one where a portion of the inlet to a process unit is split
from the feed and instead of entering the process the process is combined with
the outlet from that process.
• In terms of process control, this is to prevent shutdown or lost of product from
a failure of the control valve.
• This is quite different from purging because in the purge stream there is the
removal of unwanted material from the recycle stream.
 Bypass
Note:
• Bypass and recycle calculations are approached in exactly the same manner:

• The flowchart is drawn and labeled, and overall balances and balances around
the process unit or the stream mixing point following the process unit are
used to determine unknown variables.
 TUTORIALS
• Example 3.2 Material and Energy Balances on an Air Conditioner
• Fresh air containing 4.00 mole% water vapour is to be cooled and
dehumidified to a water content of 1.70 mole% H20. A stream of fresh air is
combined with a recycle stream of previously dehumidified air and passed
through the cooler. The blended stream entering the unit contains 2.30 mole%
H20. In the air conditioner, some of the water in the feed stream is condensed
and removed as liquid. A fraction of the dehumidified air leaving the cooler is
recycled and the remainder is delivered to room. Taking 100 mol of
dehumidified air delivered to the room as a basis of calculation, calculate the
moles of fresh feed, moles of water condensed, and moles of dehumidified
air recycled.
 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:
• The labeled flowchart for this process, including the assumed basis of
calculation, is shown below.

• Dashed lines depict the four subsystems about which balances might be
written- (i) the overall process, (ii) the recycle-fresh feed mixing point, (iii) the
air conditioner, and (iv) the recycle-product gas splitting point.

• The quantities to be determined are n1, n3, and n5.

 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:
• The labeled flowchart for this process, including the assumed basis of
calculation, is shown below.

• Dashed lines depict the four subsystems about which balances might be
written- (i) the overall process, (ii) the recycle-fresh feed mixing point, (iii) the
air conditioner, and (iv) the recycle-product gas splitting point.

• The quantities to be determined are n1, n3, and n5.

 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:

• We can therefore determine n1 and n3 from overall system balances.

• We would write a dry air balance first since it only involves one unknown (n1),
while total mole and water balances involve both unknowns.

• Once n1 has been determined, the second balance yields n3. No more can be
done with the overall system, so we move on to other subsystems.
 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:

• Only one independent balance can be written for the splitting point because
the streams entering and leaving this subsystem are labeled as having
identical compositions, so that the dry air/water mixture in all three streams
behaves like a single species.
 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:

• We could either write balances around the mixing point to determine n2 and
n5 or around the cooler to determine n2 and n4 (but not around the splitting
point, which has one degree of freedom).

• The mixing point is the logical subsystem to attack, since the problem
statement asks for n5 but not n4.

• Writing and solving balances around the mixing point will therefore complete
the solution.
 TUTORIALS
❖Solution:
• We do the calculations. All balances have the form input = output, and each
additive term in each equation has the units (mol of the balanced quantity).
 TUTORIALS
Q 3.3 Fresh juice contains 15% solids and 85% water by weight and is to be
concentrated to contain 40% solids by weight. In a single evaporation system, it
is found that volatile constituents of juice escape with water leaving the
concentrated juice with a flat taste. In order to overcome this problem, part of
the fresh juice bypasses the evaporator. The operation is shown schematically in
figure given below:

Calculate:
a. The fraction of juice that bypasses the evaporator.
b. The concentrated juice produced (containing 40 % solids) per 100 kg of fresh
juice fed to the process.
 TUTORIALS
Solution:
• Basis: 100 kg of fresh juice fed to the process.
• Let x and y be the kg of juice fed to the evaporator and p be the kg of the
concentrated juice obtained.

• Material balance over the separation of bypass stream:

x + y = 100…………………(i)
 TUTORIALS
Solution:
• Material balance of solids over Evaporator:
0.15x = 0.55z…………………….…..……(ii)
• Overall material balance after Evaporator:
z + y = p………………………………………(iii)

• Material balance of solids after Evaporator:

0.55z + 0.15 y = 0.40p…………………(iv)
• From equation (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), we get
x = 85.94 kg, y = 14.06 kg, z = 23.44 kg, p = 37.5 kg
 TUTORIALS
Solution:

•.

•.
 TUTORIALS
❖Q 3.4 In a particular drying operation, it is required to have the moisture
content of feed to a calciner at 15 % by weight in order to prevent lumping
and sticking. This is achieved by mixing the feed having 30 % by weight
moisture with a recycle stream of dried material having 3% by weight
moisture. The drying operation is shown in figure. Find the fraction of the
dried product that must be recycled.
 TUTORIALS
Solution:
• Basis: 100 kg of fresh feed.
• It contains 70 kg solids and 30 kg moisture.
• Let F, R and M be the kg of fresh feed, recycle feed and mixed feed respectively.
M=F+R
• We have, F = 100 kg

• Material balance of moisture:

0.15 M = 0.30 (100) + 0.03 R = 30 + 0.03 R

• We’ve M = 100 + R
 TUTORIALS
Solution:
➢ 0.15 (100 + R) = 30 + 0.03 R

➢ R = 125 kg and

➢ M = 100 + 125 = 225 kg

➢ Let x be the kg of the product leaving the calciner.

➢The solid balance about the calciner gives:
 TUTORIALS
Solution:
.