Mass Balance

Objectives of this chapter

Process Classification
Drawing Process Diagram
Writing Material Balance Equation
Understanding about the flowchart scaling and basis
of calculation
Perform Degree of Freedom
Solving equations with unknowns variables
Solving problems involving recycle.
 Process Classification
●
Feed is charge to the process and product is removed
when the process is completed

Batch No mass is fed or removed from the process during the

●

operation
●
Used for small scale production
●
Operate in unsteady state

Conti ●

●
Input and output is continuously red and remove from
the process
Operate in steady state

nuous
●
Used for large scale production
 Conditions of process
•Process variable do not change
Steady state with time

•Process variable change with

Unsteady
time
state/Transient
 Test Yourself
Define type and operation of process given below
 A bottle of milk is taken from the refrigerator and left
on the kitchen
 Carbon monoxide and steam are fed into a tubular
reactor at a steady rate and react to form CO2 and H2.
Products and unused reactants are withdrawn at the
other end.
1) Suppose methane is a component of both the input and output streams
of a continuous process unit but the mass flow rates of methane in both
streams are measured and found to be different.

2) There are four possible explanations for the observed difference?

•Methane is leaking from the unit
•Methane is either being consumed as a reactant or being generated as a
product within the unit
•Methane is accumulating in the unit ñ possibly adsorbing on the walls
•The measurements are wrong
 gen accu
cons
inp out mul
erat ump
atio
ut put tion
ion n

1) Input : Enters through system boundaries

2) Output : Leaves through system boundaries
3) Generation : Produced within the system
4) Consumption : Consumed within system
5) Accumulation : Buildup within system
 Differential & Integral Balances
Differential balances
• balances that indicate what is happening in a system at an instant
time.
• balance equation is a rate (rate of input, rate of generation, etc.) and
has units of the balanced quantity unit divided by a time unit
(people/yr, g SO22/s).
• usually applied to a continuous process.

Integral balances
• Balances that describe what happens between two instants of time.
• balance equation is an amount of the balanced quantity and has the
corresponding unit (people, g SO22).
• usually applied to a batch process, with the two instants of time
being the moment after the input takes place and the moment
before the product is withdrawn.
Simplified Rule for Material Balance
If the balanced quantity is TOTAL MASS, set
generation = 0 and consumption = 0. Mass can neither
be created nor destroyed.

If the balanced substances is a NONREACTIVE

SPECIES (neither a reactant nor a product), set
generation = 0 and consumption = 0.

If a system is at STEADY STATE, set accumulation = 0,

regardless of what is being balanced.
 Balances on Continuous Steady State Process
Steady state: accumulation = 0

con
gen su
inp out
erat mp 0
ut put
ion tio
n
IF balance on NONREACTIVE species or total mass;
gen. = 0, cons. = 0, balance equation become

input output
 Integral Balances on Batch Process
 Ammonia is produced from nitrogen and hydrogen in a batch reactor.
At time t = 0 there are n0 mol of NH3 in the reactor, and at a later time tf
the reaction terminates and the contents of the reactor, which include
nfammonia, are withdrawn. Between t0 and tf no ammonia enters or
leaves through the reactor boundaries.

Final GMBE for batch process

Initial input + Generation = Final output – Consumption
Whereby:

Accumulation = Generation – Consumption

Accumulation = Initial input – Final output
 Rules for Labeling Flowchart (1)
Write the values and units of all known stream
variables at the locations of the streams on the
flowchart.
For example, a stream containing 21 mole% O2 and
79% N2 at 320˚C and 1.4 atm flowing at a rate of 400
mol/h might be labeled as:
400 mol/h

0.21 mol O2/mol

0.79 mol N2/mol
T = 320˚C, P = 1.4 atm
 Rules for Labeling Flowchart (2)
The information can be given in two ways:

total
total amount
amount oror flow
flow rate
rate of
of
amount
amount or
or flow
flow rate
rate for
for the
the stream
stream with
with the
the
each
each component
component fractions
fractions of
of each
each
component
component
100 kmol/min

60 kmol N2/min 0.6 kmol N2/kmol

40 kmol O2/min 0.4 kmol O2/kmol

10 lbm
3.0 lbm CH4
4.0 lbm C2H4 0.3 lbm CH4/lbm
3.0 lbm C2H6 0.4 lbm C2H4/lbm
0.3 lbm C2H6/lbm
 Rules for Labeling Flowchart (3)
 Assign algebraic symbols to unknown stream variables (such as Q kg
solution/min, x kg N2/kg, n kmol C3H8, etc.) and write these
variable names and their associated units on the chart .

Consistent on Symbol Notation !!!

N (mol/h)
mmass
0.21 mol O2/mol  mass
m flow
rate
0.79 mol N2/mol nmoles
T = 320˚C, P= 1.4 atm
 molar
n flow
rate
400 mol/h Vvolume
 volume
V flow
rate
x (mol O2/mol) xcomponent
fraction
(mass
ormoles)
inliquid
1-x (mol N2/mol) ymoles
fraction
ingas
T = 320˚C, P= 1.4 atm
Rules for Labeling Flowchart (4)
Try to reduce the number of unknown by using any
relationship information given
If that the mass of stream 1 is half that of stream 2, label the
masses of these streams as m and 2m rather than m1 and m2.
If you know that mass fraction of nitrogen is 3 times than
oxygen, label mass fractions as yg O2/g and 3yg N2/g rather
than y1 and y2.
When labeling component mass fraction or mole fraction,
the last fraction must be 1 minus the sum of the others
Balance are not written on volumetric qualities
If volumetric flow rate of a stream is given, you still need to
label the mass or molar flow rate of this stream
 Class Exercise-Batch Process
Two methanol-water mixture are contained in separate
flask. The first mixture contains 40wt% methanol and
the second flask contains 70wt% methanol. If 200g of
the first mixture combined with 150g of the second, what
are the mass and composition of the product.
 Class Exercise
An experiment on the growth rate of certain organism
requires an environment of humid air enriched in oxygen.
Three input streams are fed into an evaporation chamber to
produce an output stream with the desired composition.

A: Liquid water fed at rate of 20 cm3/min

B: Air (21% O2 and 79% N2)
C: Pure O2 with a molar flow rate one-fifth of the molar flow
rate of stream B

The output gas is analyzed and is found to contain 1.5 mole%

water. Draw and label the flowchart of the process, and
calculate all unknown stream variables.
 Flowchart Scaling

The process is balanced, since material balances on both system components

C6H6 and C7H8 are satisfied [1 kg in = (2 x 0.5) kg out in both cases].

Masses (but not the mass fractions) of all streams could be multiplied by a
common factor and the process remain balanced.

This procedure of multiplication is referred as scaling the flowchart

1) scaling up - final stream quantities are larger than original quantities
2) scaling down - if they are smaller
Mass
Massorormol
mol
fractions
fractionswill
will
not
notchange
changewith
with
scaling
scaling
 Exercise
A 60-40 mixture (by moles) of A and B is separated
into two fractions. A flowchart of the process is
shown. It is desired to achieve the same separation
with a continuous feed of 1250 lb-moles/h. Scale the
flowchart accordingly.
50 mol
0.95 mol A
0.05 mol B
100 mol

0.6 mol A
0.4 mol B

12.5 mol A
37.5 mol B
 Basis of Calculation
 A basis of calculation is an amount (mass or moles) OR flow rate (mass
or molar) of one stream or stream component in a process. All
unknown variables are determined to be consistent with the basis.
 if the amount or flow rate of a stream is given – use it as a basis for
calculation
 If NO stream amount or flow rate are known, choose an arbitrary
convenient value ( i.e. 100 kg, 100 kmol/h) on the stream with
KNOWN composition. If mass fraction is known, choose total mass or
mass flow rate as basis. If mole fraction is known, choose a total moles
or molar flow rate as basis
 For rule of thumbs for process with no reaction :
 mass is normally use with liquid
 number of mol is use for gas
 Class Exercise
An aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide contains
20% NaOH by mass. It is desired to produce an 8%
NaOH solution by diluting a stream of the 20%
solution with a stream of pure water. Calculate the
ratios (liter H2O/kg feed solution) and (kg products
solution/kg feed solution)

100 kg m2 (kg)

0.2 kg NaOH/kg 0.08 kg NaOH/kg

0.8 kg H2O/kg 0.92 kg H2O/kg

m1 (kg H2O)
V1 (L H2O)
Strategy in Solving Problems
1 ●
Choose as basis of calculation - 100kg

2 ●
Draw and label the flowchart

●
Express what the problem statement asks you to determine in terms of the labeled
3 variables.- V1/100 (liter H2O/kg feed solution) and m2/100 (kg product solution/kg
feed solution)

●
Count unknown variables and equations relating them –1) unknown (m1, m2,
4 V1) 2) equations-2 balance materials (NaOH, water) + density of liquid water

5 ●
Outline the solution procedure.
Problem 4.8

c) 50 large eggs/min, 0.22 broken eggs/eggs

Next Lecture
Strategy in Solving Material Balances
1 ●
Choose as basis of calculation

●
Draw a flowchart and fill in all known variables values, including the basis of calculation. Then
2 label unknown stream variables on the chart.

3 ●
Express what the problem statement asks you to determine in terms of the labeled variables.

●
If you are given mixed mass and mole units for a stream (such as a total mass flow rate and
4 component mole fractions or vice versa), convert all quantities to one basis.

5 ●
Do the degree-of-freedom analysis.

●
Solve the equations (if DOF=0).
6 ●
Calculate the quantities requested in the problem statement if they have not already been calculated.

●
If a stream quantity or flow rate ng was given in the problem statement and another value nc was either chosen
7 as a basis or calculated for this stream, scale the balanced process by the ratio ng/nc to obtain the final result.
DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM
 Degree-of-Freedom
 Degree-of-freedom analysis – to see whether there is
enough information to solve a given problem for a properly
drawn and labeled flowchart before doing any material
balance calculation
 Procedure to perform a degree-of-freedom analysis:
a) draw and completely label a flowchart
b) count the unknown variables on the chart (nunknowns)
c) count the independent equations (nindep. eq.)
d) Find number of degree-of-freedom (ndf)

ndf= nunknowns - nindep. eq.

 Degree-of-Freedom
 Three possibilities number of degree-of-freedom (n )
df
1. If ndf = 0
 the problem can in principle be solved.
2. If ndf> 0
 there are more unknowns than independent equations
relating to them
 at least n additional variable values must be specified
df
before remaining variable values can be determined.
 Either relations have been overlooked or the problem
is underspecified.
3. If ndf< 0
 there are more independent equations than unknowns.
 Either the flowchart is incompletely labeled or the
problem is overspecified with redundant and possibly
inconsistent relations.
 6 Sources of Equation for Balance
1. Material balances.
 For a nonreactive process, number of independent equation can be
written is not more than number of molecules species (nms) of the process
 If benzene and toluene is involve in stream, we can write balance on
benzene, toluene, total mass, atomic carbon and etc., but only TWO
INDEPENDENT balance equation exist
2. An energy balance.
 If the amount of energy exchanged between the system and its
surroundings is specified or if it is one of the unknown process variables,
an energy balance provides a relationship between inlet and outlet
material flows and temperatures.
3. Process specifications
 The problem statement may specify how several process are related.
 i.e: Outlet flow rate is two times than flow rate stream 1 or etc.
 6 Sources of Equation for Balance
4. Physical properties and laws
 Two of the unknown variables may be the mass and volume of a stream
material, in which case a tabulated specific gravity for liquids and solids
or an equation of state for gases would provide an equation relating the
variables.

5. Physical constraints
 For example, if the mole fractions of the three components of a stream
labeled xA, xB, and xC, then the relation among these variables is xA + xB +
xC = 1.
 Instead label as xc, the last fraction should be 1-xA-xB

6. Stoichiometric relations
 If chemical reactions occur in a system, stoichiometric equation provide
a relationship between the quantities of reactant and the product
 Exercise for DOF
A stream of humid air enters a condenser in which
95% of the water vapor in the air is condensed. The
flow rate of the condensate (the liquid leaving the
condenser) is measured and found to be 225L/h. Dry
air may be taken to contain 21 mole% oxygen, with the
balance nitrogen. The entering air contains 10 mole %
water. Calculate the flow rate of the gas stream leaving
the condenser.
 Exercise
A liquid mixture containing 45% benzene and 55%
toluene by mass is fed to distillation column. A
product stream leaving the top of the column contains
95 mole% B and bottom products stream contain 8%
of the benzene fed to the column( meaning that 92%
of the benzene leaves with the overhead products).
The volumetric flow rate of the feed stream is 2000 L/h
and the specific gravity of the feed mixture is 0.872.
Determine the mass flow rate of the overhead products
stream and the mass flow rate and composition (mass
fraction) of the bottom products stream.
RECYCLE
 Topic Outcomes
Analyze and solve material balance problems
involving RECYCLE applications.
 Recycle
Normally in chemical reaction, some of unreacted
reactant also found in the product.
This unreacted reactant can be separated and recycle
back to the reactor
Fresh
Feed Product
Reactor Separator

Recycle Stream
 Purpose of Recycle
1. Recovery of catalyst – catalyst is very expensive

2. Dilution of process stream – typically for slurry

solution

3. Control of process variables – especially for the

reaction that release heat, heat can be reduce by
lowering the feed concentration

4. Circulation of working fluid such as in refrigerator

system
 Conversion for Reactive Process
25 mol A/min
75 mol A/min 100 mol A/min 75 mol B/min Product 75 mol B/min
Reactor Separation
Unit

25 mol A/min

Overall Conversion
Reactant input to Process – reactant output from Process
Reactant input to Process

Single Pass Conversion

Reactant input to Reactor – reactant output from Reactor
Reactant input to Reactor
 Exercise-Recycle
Fresh air containing 4 mole% water vapor is to be cooled
and dehumidified to a water content of 1.7mole% H2O.
A stream of fresh air is combined with a recycle stream
of previously dehumidified air and passed through the
cooler. The blend stream entering the unit contains
2.3mole% H2O. In the air conditioner, some of the water
in the feed stream is condensed and removed as a liquid.
A fraction of the dehumidified air leaving the cooler is
recycled and the remainder is delivered to a 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.
 Exercise: Recycle vs. Un-recycle
4500 kg/h of a solution that is one third K2CrO4 by mass is joined by a
recycle stream containing 36.4% K2CrO4 and the combined stream is fed
into an evaporator. The concentrated stream leaving the evaporator
contains 49.4% K2CrO4; this stream is fed into a crystallizer in which it is
cooled (causing a crystal of K2CrO4 to come out of solution) and then
filtered. The filter cake consist of K2CrO4 crystals and solution that
contains 36.4% k2CrO4 by mass; the crystals account for 955 of the total
mass of the filter cake. The solution passes through the filter, also 36.4%
K2CrO4 is the recycle stream.
1. Calculate the rate of evaporation, the rate of production of
crystalline K2CrO4, the feed rates that evaporator and the
crystallizer must be designed to handle, and the recycle ratio
(mass of recycle/mass of feed)
2. Suppose that the filtrate were discard instead of being recycled.
Calculate the production rate of crystals.