UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

MATERIAL AND ENERGY BALANCE

1.INTRODUCTION
Material and energy balances are extremely significant in an industry. Material balances are vital for process
control, specifically in the control of yields of the products. Throughout the entirety of a process material
balances are used. Any change in the process will require the material balance to be determined again.
As a result of rising energy costs industries have placed an increased importance on reducing energy
consumption in processing. Technological advances have made energy and material balances easier to
implement and so they are used in process control to help maximise yield and minimise energy loss.
1.1 Aim
The experiment was conducted and measurements were taken to show a steady state from which material
and energy balances could be calculated. In addition to this, the recognition of the main sources of error and
safety issues relating to this experiment were also aims of this experiment.

2. THEORY
In this experiment measurements of the water outlet temperature were taken until a constant value was
obtained whilst the gas flow rate, water flow rate and water inlet temperature were kept constant throughout
the experiment. Steady state was achieved when the water outlet temperature became constant. Steady state
occurs when there is no accumulation of energy and mass (all the process variables are constant).
From the observed results measurements were made and using these values, material and energy balances
were calculated. A material balance is defined as
Input – Output + Generation – Consumption = Accumulation (1)
Material balances work because of the mass is conserved, there is no generation or consumption and so one
can calculate the output from the input (Input = Output).
The first law of thermodynamics, the conservation of energy principle states that energy cannot be created or
destroyed. Because of this, energy balances can be made to calculate the energy transferred to or released
from system.
The energy input into this system comes from the combustion of butane which heats up the water in a heat
exchange system, the equation for the combustion off methane is as follows:

C4H10 (g) + 6.5O2 (g) = 4 CO2 (g) + 5 H2O (g) (2)

However, because traces of Carbon Monoxide were also found in the composition of flue gas it can be
assumed that incomplete combustion occurs:

C4H10 (g) + 4.5O2 (g) = 4CO (g) + 5H2O (g) (3)

The energy released from the combustion of butane is transferred to the water causing the temperature to
rise. The energy transfer (J) is calculated using the following equation
E = mc∆T (4)
-1 -1
(where m is mass of water (kg) C is the specific heat capacity (Jkg K ) and ∆T is the temperature change
(K))

The flue gas was also found to contain Oxygen which suggests that the Oxygen was in excess. The exact
percentage of excess air can be calculated with the equation:
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

#$% &'(()$*+,-.*/%*0$12) #$%
Percentage excess air = x100 (5)
-.*/%*0$12) #$%

To obtain the pressure of the gas a U-tube manometer was used, this equipment measured the pressure of
Butane against atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference ΔP was calculated using the height difference
ΔH (m) given by the U-tube and applying it to the equation:
ΔP = ρgΔH (6)
-3 -2
(where ρ is the density of water (kg m ) and g is the acceleration due to gravity (ms ))

To calculate the absolute pressure, the atmospheric pressure is added to the gauge pressure calculated using
Equation 6
Pabsolute = Patmosphere + Pgauge (7)
The ideal gas equation is also useful as it helps calculate the molar flow rates which are needed for the
material and energy balances.
PV=nRT (8)
3
(Where P is the pressure (Pa) , V the volume (m ), n the number of moles (gmol) and T the temperature (K)
of the gas. R is the ideal gas constant 8.314 Jgmol-1K-1)

Hess’ Law states “the enthalpy change in converting reactants into products is the same regardless of the
route taken” [1] this equation is required to calculate the energy balance.

ΔHReaction = ΔHfProducts – ΔHfReactants (9)

The overall energy balance can be obtained using the following equation
∑HR + (-ΔH) =∑HP + q (10)
(where HR is the reactant enthalpy, ΔH the reaction enthalpy, HP the enthalpy of the products an q the heat
loss).

3. APPLICATION IN INDUSTRY
Material and Energy balances play a very significant role in the chemical process industry. They allow
Plants to be run efficiently and effectively because the information gained from doing the balances will
allow the businesses to purchase the correct amount of reactants for the amount they are looking to produce.
Efficiency is enhanced because the percentage yield can be calculated and improved. One industry where
this is clear is in food processing. In order to reduce the cost of waste disposal, Plants look to have the
highest percentage yield possible and so a large emphasis is placed on having accurate values hence material
balances being used during each stage of the process.

With regards to Energy balances, they are mainly used to see how much energy will be needed to carry out
the process and how much of that energy is actually useful. This is beneficial as it allows a more cost
effective (lower energy consuming) processes to be developed. An example of this in the food industry is
when hot milk from the pasteuriser is used to heat up the entering cold milk, and as a result is cooled to the
desired temperature.

In industry Material and Energy balances are used for economical purposes, they help determine whether a
process is or has the potential to be profitable.
 UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

4. EXPERIMENT
4.1 Equipment
The system used in this experiment was water and Butane, the equipment used can be seen in Figure 1.0
10

9
1. Butane Tank
2. Water Inlet
8 temperature
7 3. Flow reader
(Butane)
4. U-Tube
6
Manometer
5. Water rate meter
6. Stopwatch
7. Kane gas analyser
5 8. Jacketed Pipe
9. Water Outlet
temperature
10. Flue gas analysis
point
4
3

2
1
Figure 1.0: Photographed image of apparatus used in the experiment

4.2 Procedure
The procedure was carried out using the method from the “School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical
Sciences, First Year Practical Work”, book pages 39-41. The flow rate of Butane and Water was set at 0.50
lmin-1 and 0.38 lmin-1 respectively. Readings were taken every 5 mins until the Water outlet temperature
stayed constant for three successive measurements. At this point steady state was assumed.

4.3 Hazards
Goggles must be worn at all times during the experiment as well as a lab coat. This is to protect the eyes and
skin from any toxic chemicals being used in the neighbouring experiments. The hazards directly related to
experiment was the risk of gas leaking from the butane leaking as it is a very combustible gas. Also, the
amount of Carbon Monoxide in the flue gas which is being released was cause for concern because it is
toxic.

5. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

5.1 Observed Results
From Table 1.0 below, it can be seen that steady state was achieved at a temperature of 44 oC, the time taken
was 60 minutes. It is clear that steady state was achieved because the temperature remained constant for 15
minutes. Once steady state was achieved the measurements that can be seen in Table 2.0.
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

Table 1.0: The Time (min), Temperature of Water Inlet and Outlet (oC)
Time (min) Temperature of Water Inlet (oC) Temperature of Water Outlet
(±1s) (±0.5oC) (oC) (±0.5oC)
0 18 17
5 18 18
10 18 22
15 18 28
20 18 32
25 18 35
30 18 38
35 18 40
40 18 42
45 18 43
50 18 44
55 18 44
60 18 44

Table 2.0: The Composition and temperature of Flue gas, Ambient Pressure, Temperature and Composition. Flow rate and pressure of Butane

Error
Measurement (at (in
1st Measurement 2nd Measurement 3rd Measurement Average
Steady State) units
shown)
Ambient Pressure
774.00 774.00 774.00 774.00 ±0.250
(mmHg)
Pressure of Butane
103783.70 103783.70 103783.70 103783.70 ±1.000
(Pa)
Ambient
22.00 22.00 22.00 22.00 ±0.500
Temperature (oC)
Butane Flow Rate
0.50 0.50 0.50 0.500 ±0.005
(lmin-1)
Manometer reading
54.00 54.00 54.00 54 ±0.100
(mm)
Water Flow Rate
0.38 0.38 0.38 0.38 ±0.005
(lmin-1)
Temperature of
165.00 166.00 166.00 165.7 ±0.500
Flue gas (oC)
Flue gas O2 (Vol
13.60 13.60 13.60 13.6 ±0.050
(%))
Flue gas CO2 (Vol
4.90 4.90 4.90 4.9 ±0.050
(%))
Flue gas CO (ppm) 14.00 12.00 12.00 12.7 ±0.500
O2 in Air (%) 20.90 20.80 20.70 20.8 ±0.050
N2 in Air (%) 79.06 79.06 79.06 79.06 ±0.050
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

5.2 Graphs Point at which steady
state is achieved

50

40
Temperature of Water Outlet

30

20

10
(oC)

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Time (min)

Figure 2.0: Graph to show how Temperature of Water outlet changed with time

5.3 Calculations

Material Balances:
Using a revised version of Equation 1 (input = output) because there is no generation or consumption, the
material balance can be calculated.
Firstly, the Vol % of N2 in the flue gas was needed, to do so it was necessary to subtract from a 100 the other
values taken. However, CO was given in ppm and needed to be converted.
34444
Conversion of CO: (10000 ppm) = 1 Vol % therefore 12.7ppm = 1.27x10-3 Vol%
3444444

Now the Vol % of N2 can be calculated: 100 – 13.6 – 4.9 – (1.27x10-3)

= 81.5%
The diagram below demonstrates how the material balance was calculated
Flue gas Y Kmol
C4H10 (1 Kmol) - O2 =13.6 % mol Y
- CO2 = 4.9 % mol Y
Air X Kmol - CO = 1.27x10-3% mol Y
- O2 = 20.8% mol x - N2 = 81.5% mol Y
- N2 = 79.2% mol x

H2O Z Kmol
Figure 3.0: Diagram depicting the combustion of Butane

Atomic Balances:
C Balance: 4 = 0.049Y + 1.27x10-5 Y
Y = 81.6 Kmol (1dp)
Now that the number of moles of Flue gas present are known, the moles of air can be easily calculated
because Nitrogen is not involved in the reaction and so must remain constant.
N2 Balance: 1.584X = 1.63(Y)
1.584X = 1.63(81.60)
X = 84.0 Kmol (1dp)
The calculation of the number of moles of water is also simple as all the Hydrogen is added to the system
through the Butane and all leaves through the water.
H Balance: 10 = 2Z
Z=5
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

In order to check if this mass balance is in fact correct an overall one can be carried out using the fact that
Input = Output, Mass = Moles x Mr , X= 84.0, Y = 81.6 and Z = 5:
58.1 + 84(32 x 0.208 + 28 x 0.792) = 81.6(32 x 0.136 + 44 x 0.049 +28 x 0.00127 +28 x 0.815) + 5 x 18
The two sides of the Equation have similar values: 2480kg and 2486.1kg therefore this mass balance can be
considered correct with a percentage error of 0.25%.

Excess Air: In order to calculate the % excess air (using Equation 5) the theoretical air must be calculated
first. This can be done due to the fact that the moles of O2 needed for the complete combustion of Butane is
known.
6.5 = 20.8% (O2 in Air) therefore 100% (Theoretical Air) = 31.3 Kmol
56, 78.7
Percentage excess Air = × 100 = 168%
78.7

Pressure of Butane: The pressure of Butane can be calculated using Equation 6 and 7
ΔP = ρgΔH
= 1000kgm-3 x 9.8ms-2 x 0.054m
= 529.2 Pa
Using Equation 7 and the (PGauage) calculated earlier the PAbsolute can be obtained
PAtmoshpere = 774 mmHg
= 103191.5 Pa
Therefore, PAbsolute = 103191.5 + 592.2
= 103783.7 Pa
The Butane flow rate must also be calculated in order to obtain the molar flow rate. To do so the gas flow
-1
rate must first be converted from lmin to m3h-1
=.>) A=?$@ =.==8?B
× × = 0.03m3h-1
?$@ 8. 8)

By subbing in the values obtained for the pressure, volumetric flow rate and temperature (in K) of Butane
into a rearranged version of Equation 8 the molar flow rate can be calculated.
EF
n=
G-
8=7H57.H I =.=7
= = 0.00127 kmol h-1
5.786 I (KH7.8>LKK)

Energy Balances:
In Equation 10, the overall energy balance ∑HR + (-ΔH) =∑HP + q, the value of ∑HR = 0 due to the fact that
Air, Butane and Water all enter the system at standard temperature hence no change in enthalpy.

C4H10 (g) + 6.5O2 (g) = 4 CO2 (g) + 5 H2O (g) (2)

C4H10 (g) + 4.5O2 (g) = 4CO (g) + 5H2O (g) (3)
Equations 2 and 3 for the combustion of Butane can be used along with the values of Standard heat
formation given in the Practical work book and Hess’ Law to find ΔH for the reactions. (The standard heat
formation given value for H2O is when it is liquid therefore the latent heat of vaporisation must also be
added)
Applying Equation 9 to Equation 2 gives, ΔHReaction = 4(-393.51) +5(44-285.84) - (-124.73)
= -2658.51 KJ mol-1
= 2658510 KJ Kmol-1
Applying Equation 9 to Equation 3 gives, ΔHReaction = 4(-110.52) +5(44-285.84) – (-124.73)
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

= -1526.55 KJ mol-1
= 1526550 KJ Kmol-1

Both these reactions occur simultaneously and at different amounts. To calculate the percentage of Butane in
each reaction the composition of CO2 and CO in the flue gas must be taken into account. It was found to be
3.998 Kmol (CO2) and 0.104 Kmol (CO). Using this the percentage of Butane used in complete combustion
was found to be 97.46% and 2.54% in incomplete combustion.
Now the average ΔH of both reactions can be calculated:
ΔH = (0.9746 x -2658510 + 0.0254 x -1526550)
= 2629758.2 KJmol-1
All the energy input into the system comes from the combustion of Butane (2629.8 KJmol-1). To complete
the energy balance the energy output must be calculated which is the energy needed to heat up the water and
enthalpy change of each molecule.

The energy transferred for each molecule is calculated using Equation 4. To get the energy needed to heat up
the water from 18℃ to 43℃ the volumetric flow rate must be converted to a mass flow rate:
V̇ = 0.38 x 60 x 0.001
= 0.0228 m3h-1
O = 1000 x 0.0228 = 22.8 kgh-1
E = 22.8 x 4.18 x (44-22) (Cp of Water at 43℃ is 4.18 KJ kg-1K-1 [2])
= 2096.7 KJh-1
To calculate the values for the other molecules the specific heat capacity should be calculated using linear
interpolation of the values in the Practical work book.
8A>.H,8>=
For O2 at 165.7℃ the Cp =30.08 + x (30.34-30.08)
K==,8>=
= 30.16
Using the same method for other molecules to calculate Cpm the energy transferred can be obtained
O2: 11.1 x 30.16 x (165.7 - 22) = 48107.3 KJh-1
CO2: 3.998 x 39.87 x (165.7 – 22) = 22905.8 KJh-1
CO: 0.104 x 29.4 x (165.7 – 22) = 439.4KJh-1
N2: 66.5 x 29.29 x (165.7 – 22) = 279896.7 KJh-1
H2O: 5 x 34.25 x (165.7 – 22) = 24608.6 KJh-1

Overall energy balance (Equation 10): 2629758.2 = 378054.5+ heat loss

Heat loss = 2251703.7 KJh-1
= 2251.7 MJh-1
KK>8HPP
The % Heat loss = x 100 = 85.6%
KAKPH>5.K

The objective of this experiment was to heat up water as a result the energy used to heat up anything else
like flue gas can be considered, if this is taken into account the % heat loss will rise by a large amount.

Errors:
There are several sources of error in this experiment. Firstly, human error comes from reading equipment
incorrectly (parallax error) and the technical aspects of the experiment. There is also a margin of error for
each equipment as seen in Table 2.0 this means the values calculated for percentage error may actually be
much larger (the error margins are multiplied). In addition to this, errors can be found in the calculation as
some of the values were rounded. Furthermore, there was a fluctuation in the flow rate of water at several
points during the experiment. This small error may have a large effect on the calculations.
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

.

5.4 Discussion
The values obtained for the mass balance (2480kg ≈ 2486.1kg) are close enough to assume that the balance
is correct. As for the energy balance, due to this being a combustion reaction the energy lost to the
surroundings was expected to be very high. Both sides for the energy balance are equal and so this balance
can also be to assumed correct. Even though the percentage heat loss was expected to be high it was a
surprise to see such an inefficient reaction which means they may have been errors made throughout the
reaction.
This experiment could have been improved by using more precise equipment, for example apparatus with
smaller intervals . The water flow could have been controlled electronically to prevent the fluctuations.
Also, the temperature readings should have been taken automatically at set intervals and digitally to prevent
timing and parallax error. If this experiment was to be scaled up to an industrial scale the calculations for the
process will be more reliable because the margin of error reduces with an increase in size. However, due to
the large amounts of energy loss it would be more economically viable for a business to research a more
energy efficient reaction.

5.5 Conclusion
This experiment emphasised the importance of achieving and maintaining steady state in order to make
energy and mass balance calculations. Furthermore, the importance of mass and energy balances in industry
was highlighted during this experiment. This experiment equipped me with the knowledge to successfully
use a Kane Gas Analyser. This piece of equipment took the composition of the flue gas on a dry-basis
because the amount of water produced as a by-product (so not actually part of the gas as seen in Figure 3.0)
is much larger than the individual components of the flue gas and will change the composition of the gas.
This experiment has not only given me an increased appreciation of the role energy and material balances
play in industry it also improved my ability to make such calculations which will prove to be very
beneficial.

Nomenclature

Symbol Definition Units

E Energy J
m Mass kg
Cp Specific Heat Capacity kJkg-1K-1
Cpm Molar Heat Capacity kJ kmol-1K-1
(Δ)T Change in temperature K
(Δ)P Change in pressure Pa
ρ Density kgm-3
g Acceleration due to Gravity ms-2
P Pressure Pa
V Volume m3
n moles mol kg-1
T Temperature K
ppm Parts Per Million
V̇ Volumetric Flow Rate m3h-1
O Mass Flow Rate kgh-1
h Height m
ΔH Enthalpy Change J
ΔHf Enthalpy Change of Formation J
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER ANTHONY BAMISHE (9945250)
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND ANALYTICAL SCIENCE DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 14TH NOVEMBER 2016

References:

School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Sciences, First Year Practical Work 2016/17 (Accessed in
14th November)

Steady State Mass Energy. Available at:

http://www.engineersedge.com/thermodynamics/steady_state.htm (Accessed in 15th November)

Hess’ Law- Revision [1]. Available at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/chemistry/calculations_3/hess/revision/1/ (Accessed in 15th November
2016)

Material and Energy Balances Available at:

https://online.manchester.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-4523449-dt-content-rid-14325225_1/courses/I3021-CHEN-
10060-1161-1YR-026783/Material%20and%20Energy%20Balance_1.pdf?target=blank (Accessed in 15th
November)

Understanding Combustion Efficiency. Available at:

https://www.trutechtools.com/Understanding-Combustion-Efficiency_c_261.html ( Accessed in 16th
November)