Assignment 1

1.

The reaction AB is carried in a plug flow reactor (PFR). The

concentration of reactant A along the reactor is given by the following
expression:

C A
(uC A )
2C A
=
+D
+ A r
2
t
z
z
Find an algebraic expression of the concentration of reactant A at
steady state for any given differential volume in the PFR using:

Forward finite differences

Backward finite differences
Central finite differences

Assignment 1
2. Calculate the bubble point temperature and
equilibrium composition associated with a liquid
mixture of 10 mol% n-pentane and 90mol% nhexane at 1 atm.
Vapor pressure of n-pentane PA* (in mm Hg)
and n-hexane PA* (in mm Hg) can be
calculated from Antoine Equation (T is in C):
1064.63
log P = 6.85221
T + 232
*
A

log PB* = 6.87776

1171.53
224.366 + T

3. The zeta-potential of particles in a suspension

is an indication of the sign and the density of the
surface charge of the particles. The iso-electric
point refers to the pH where the zeta-potential
is zero. Use the data given in the Table to
determine the iso-electric points of silica in the
presence of 10-4 M Pb(NO3)2. Use quadratic
polynomial for interpolation using Lagrange
method.

pH
1.74
2.72
3.72
4.09
4.32
4.70
5
5.55

Zeta-potential (mV)
-5.3
-10.8
-21.8
-32
-35.8
-36.9
-36.7
-37.7

pH
6
6.53
6.7
7.29
8.06
10.02
11.12
12.15

Zeta-potential (mV)
-33.2
-15.7
-10
13.7
32.2
24
6.9
-30

4.Paraxylene, Styrene and benzene are to be

separated with the array of distillation columns
shown in the figure (operating at steady state):

Calculate the molar flow rates

D1,D2,B1 and B2.

5. A heat exchanger is required that will be

able to handle 2.5 liter/s of water through a
smooth pipe with an equivalent lenght of
L=100 m. The maximum total pressure drop is
to be P=103kPa at a temperature of 25C.
Calculate the diameter D of the pipe required
for this application, having into account the
following:
The fanning friction factor can be used to
calculate the friction loss for isothermal liquid
flow in uniform circular
pipes by the formula:
2
Ff = 2 f F

Lv
D

 Where Ff is the friction loss in J/kg, fF is the

fanning friction factor (dimensionless), L is the
length of the pipe in m, v is the fluid velocity in
m/s and D is the pipe diameter in m.
The friction factor can be used to predict the
pressure drop due to frictions loss from:
p f = FF

Where pf is the pressure drop in Pa and is

the density in kg/m3
If the flow is in the laminar region the fanning
factor can be calculated as:
f F = 16 / Re

 For turbulent flow in a somooth tube, the

Nikuradse correlation can be used for
calculating the fanning factor:

1
= 4 log Re
fF

Use two different method sfor solving the

problem.

f F 0 .4

Assignment 1
The friction factor f for turbulent flow of an
incompressible fluid in a pipe is given by the
nonlinear Colebrook Equation:

/ D
1
2.51
= 0.86 ln
+
f
3.7 Re f

Where and D are the roughness and inside

diameter of the pipe and Re is the reynolds number.
Calculate the friction factor for flow of a fluid in a
pipe with /D=10-4 y Re=105.
Use the successive substitutution, newton and a
third method and compare them.

Assignment 1
6. The heat capacity of gaseous propane is presented in the following table:
Temperature (K)

Heat Capacity
(kJ/kg-mol.K)

Temperature (K)

Heat Capacity
(kJ/kg-mol.K)

50

34.06

700

142.67

100

41.30

800

154.77

150

48.79

900

163.35

200

56.07

1000

174.60

273.15

68.74

1100

182.67

300

73.93

1200

189.74

400

94.01

1300

195.85

500

112.59

1400

201.21

600

128.70

1500

205.89

Determine the mean heat capacity for the following intervals:

50 K to 1500 K
50 K to 273.15 K
273.15 K to 1000 K
1000 K to 1500 K

Assignment 1
7. A polymer-surfactant system is used to produce nanoparticles
encapsulating active ingredients for controlled release. The
effect of surfactant concentration on the encapsulation
process are presented in the following table:

Use these results to determine the optimum concentration of

surfactant that maximizes the effective drug loading (Drug
loading x Encapsulation efficiency)

Assignment 1
Investigate about the Runge phenomenon