ChE 455

Fall 2012
Major 1
Cumene Production
Background

Cumene (isopropyl benzene) is produced by reacting propylene with benzene. During World
War II, cumene was used as an octane enhancer for piston-engine aircraft fuel. Presently, most
of the worldwide supply of cumene is used as a raw material for phenol production, a process
that simultaneously produces most of the worldwide supply of acetone. Typically, cumene is
produced at the same facility that manufactures phenol and acetone.

The plant at which you are employed currently manufactures cumene in Unit 800 by a vapor-
phase alkylation process that uses a phosphoric acid catalyst supported on kieselguhr. Plant
capacity is on the order of 100,000 tonne/y of 99 wt% purity cumene. Benzene and propylene
feeds are brought in by tanker trucks and stored in tanks as liquids.

Cumene Production Reactions

The reactions for cumene production from benzene and propylene are given in Equations 1
and 2. The undesired product, p-DIPB, is p-diisopropyl benzene. Cumene is isopropyl benzene.

C3 H 6 + C 6 H 6 → C9 H 12
(1)
propylene benzene cumene

C3 H 6 + C9 H 12 → C12 H 18
(2)
propylene cumene p - DIPB

Process Description

The PFD for the cumene production process, Unit 800, is given in Figure 1. The reactants
are fed from their respective storage tanks. After being pumped up to the required pressure
(dictated by catalyst operating conditions), the reactants are mixed, vaporized, and heated to the
temperature required by the catalyst in the fired heater. The shell-and-tube reactor converts the
reactants to desired and undesired products as per the reactions in Equations 1 and 2. The
reactions are exothermic, and heat is removed using a co-current Dowtherm loop. The stream
leaving the reactor is cooled, partially condensed, and enters the flash unit. The off-gas may be
used for fuel credit. The liquid stream from the flash drum is sent to the first distillation column,
which separates benzene for recycle. The second distillation column purifies cumene from the p-
DIPB (p-diisopropyl benzene) impurity. Currently, the waste p-DIPB is used as fuel for a
furnace.

Table 1 is the stream table for Unit 800. Table 2 shows the utility flows, and Table 3
provides some of the equipment specifications.
2
 3

Table 1
Stream Tables for Unit 800

Stream No. 1 2 3 4 5
Temperature (°C) 25.00 38.33 39.52 25.00 27.23
Pressure (kPa) 130.00 130.00 3150.00 1200.00 3150.00
Vapor Mole Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total Flow (kmol/h) 135.00 647.77 647.77 160.00 160.00
Total Flow (kg/h) 10,545.39 49,530.30 49,530.30 6,749.08 6,749.08
Component Flows
(kmol/h)
propane 0.00 30.42 30.42 8.00 8.00
propylene 0.00 1.09 1.09 152.00 152.00
benzene 135.00 616.14 616.14 0.00 0.00
cumene 0.00 0.11 0.11 0.00 0.00
p-diisopropyl benzene 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Stream No. 6 7 8 9 10
Temperature (°C) 38.23 231.57 350.00 343.77 323.56
Pressure (kPa) 3125.00 3095.00 3075.00 3025.00 225.00
Vapor Mole Fraction 0.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Total Flow (kmol/h) 807.77 807.77 807.77 656.07 656.04
Total Flow (kg/h) 56,279.38 56,279.38 56,279.38 56,279.16 56,276.69
Component Flows
(kmol/h)
propane 38.42 38.42 38.42 38.42 38.42
propylene 153.09 153.09 153.09 1.39 1.39
benzene 616.14 616.14 616.14 484.34 484.31
cumene 0.11 0.11 0.11 112.02 112.02
p-diisopropyl benzene 0.00 0.00 0.00 19.89 19.90

Stream No. 11 12 13 14 15
Temperature (°C) 65.00 65.00 65.00 44.81 185.81
Pressure (kPa) 200.00 200.00 200.00 170.00 200.00
Vapor Mole Fraction 0.017 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total Flow (kmol/h) 656.04 11.04 645.00 512.77 132.23
Total Flow (kg/h) 56,276.69 581.92 55,694.77 38,984.92 16,709.85
Component Flows
(kmol/h)
propane 38.42 8.00 30.42 30.42 0.00
propylene 1.39 0.30 1.09 1.09 0.00
benzene 484.31 2.69 481.62 481.14 0.48
cumene 112.02 0.05 111.96 0.11 111.85
p-diisopropyl benzene 19.90 0.00 19.89 0.00 19.89
 4

Table 1
Stream Tables for Unit 800 (cont’d)

Stream No. 16 17 18 19
Temperature (°C) 167.50 235.86 40.00 39.62
Pressure (kPa) 150.00 180.00 135.00 130.00
Vapor Mole Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.012 0.011
Total Flow (kmol/h) 112.32 19.91 512.77 512.77
Total Flow (kg/h) 13,484.31 3225.54 38,984.92 38,984.92
Component Flows
(kmol/h)
propane 0.00 0.00 30.42 30.42
propylene 0.00 0.00 1.09 1.09
benzene 0.48 0.00 481.14 481.14
cumene 111.74 0.11 0.11 0.11
p-diisopropyl benzene 0.10 19.79 0.00 0.00

Stream No. 50 51 52
Temperature (°C) 338.67 338.70 300.00
Pressure (kPa) 1000.00 1070.00 1035.00
Vapor Mole Fraction 0.00 0.00 0.00
Total Flow (kmol/h) 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00
Total Flow (kg/h) 166,000.00 166,000.00 166,000.00
Component Flows
(kmol/h)
Dowtherm A 100.00 1000.00 1000.00

Table 2
Utility Summary for Unit 800
(all units of kg/h)

E-801 E-802 E-803 E-804

hps Dowtherm cw cw
21,600 383,000 1,120,000 518,000

E-805 E-806 E-807 E-808

hps cw hps cw
13,200 146,000 3470 4810
 5

Table 3
Partial Equipment Summary

Heat Exchangers
H-801 E-801
fired heater – refractory-lined, stainless-steel tubes carbon steel
design Q = 15.03 GJ/h A = 195 m2
max Q = 18.00 GJ/h boiling in shell, condensing in tubes
Pdesign = 3100 kPa 1 shell – 2 tube passes
Pmax = 3300 kPa Q = 36,531 MJ/h
Pdesign = 3135 kPa
Pmax = 3300 kPa
E-802 E-803
carbon steel carbon steel
A = 84.77 m2 A = 473 m2
cw in shell, process fluid in tubes process fluid in shell, cw in tubes
1 shell – 2 tube passes 1 shell – 2 tube passes
Q = 16,042 MJ/h Q = 46,963 MJ/h
Pdesign = 1070 kPa Pdesign = 225 kPa
Pmax = 1400 kPa Pmax = 300 kPa
E-804 E-805
carbon steel carbon steel
A = 195 m2 A = 60 m2
condensing in shell, cw in tubes boiling in shell, condensing in tubes
1 shell – 2 tube passes 1 shell – 2 tube passes
Q = 21,683 MJ/h Q = 24,454 MJ/h
Pdesign = 170 kPa Pdesign = 185 kPa
Pmax = 300 kPa Pmax = 300 kPa
E-806 E-807
carbon steel carbon steel
A = 11.4 m2 A = 30.6 m2
condensing in shell, cw in tubes boiling in shell, condensing in tubes
1 shell – 2 tube passes desuperheater – steam saturated at 150°C
Q = 6097 MJ/h 1 shell – 2 tube passes
Pdesign = 150 kPa Q = 5916 MJ/h
Pmax = 250 kPa Pdesign = 180 kPa
Pmax = 250 kPa
E-808
carbon steel
A = 21.2 m2
process fluid in tubes, cooling water in shell
1 shell – 2 tube passes
Q = 201.3 MJ/h
Pdesign = 170 kPa
Pmax = 250 kPa

Reactors
R-801
carbon steel, shell-and-tube packed bed
V = 22.7 m3
4.0 m tall, 2800 tubes, 0.0508 m = 2 in diameter
Pdesign = 3075 kPa
Pmax = 3300 kPa
 6

Towers
T-801 T-802
carbon steel carbon steel
D = 2.5 m D = 1.8 m
32 sieve trays 58 sieve trays
41% efficient 57% efficient
feed on tray 17 feed on tray 44
24 in tray spacing 12 in tray spacing
4.90 in weirs 2.95 in weirs
column height = 64 ft = 19.5 m column height = 58 ft = 17.7 m
Pdesign = 205 kPa Pdesign = 180 kPa
Pmax = 300 kPa Pmax = 300 kPa

Other Equipment
V-801 V-802
carbon steel carbon steel
V = 15.3 m3 V = 21.5 m3
horizontal vertical
D = 1.86 m, L = 5.59 m D = 2.09 m, H = 8.35 m
Pdesign = 130 kPa Pdesign = 200 kPa
Pmax = 200 kPa Pmax = 250 kPa
P-801 A/B P-802 A/B
stainless steel carbon steel
W = 61.9 kW (actual) W = 9.1 kW (actual)
80% efficient 80% efficient
P-803 A/B
stainless steel
W = 2.64 kW (actual)
80% efficient

Problem

Due to an upset at another plant, production of cumene, phenol, and acetone must be
increased at this plant (and all other company plants) to fulfill contracts for phenol and acetone.
Your assignment is to determine the maximum possible scale-up for the cumene plant. Others
are assigned the same task for the phenol and acetone plant. The bottleneck to scale-up must be
identified. If a bottleneck can be removed by changing process conditions within acceptable
parameters, these conditions should be defined. This process should be repeated until a
bottleneck is reached that cannot be removed through changes in operating conditions. The
conditions at this point define the maximum possible scale-up. New equipment cannot be
purchased and installed unless there is a parallel unit (a pump for example), because shut down is
not possible at this point in time.

Until phenol and acteone production can be increased to make up for the loss of cumene
production at the other plant, some deliveries are being delayed. This will not make the
customers happy, and they may not want to renew their contracts to purchase phenol and
acetone. Therefore, it is important that cost-saving strategies (that could be passed on to our
customers) be identified within the current plant. A thorough analysis to identify cost-saving
strategies should be performed. Since this is a long-term project, it may be possible to purchase
new equipment that could be installed during a typical two- to three-week annual shut down.
The incremental profitability of any such equipment should be analyzed.
 7

Additionally, there are some concerns about P-802 making unusual noises. Suggestions
should be made regarding the cause and any possible remedy.

Finally, a summer intern wondered why E-808 was necessary, since it only changes the
stream temperature by about 8°C. You should evaluate this idea for process feasibility and for
incremental profitability.

Deliverables

Specifically, the following is to be completed by 9:00 a.m., Monday, November 12, 2012:

1. Prepare a written report, conforming to the guidelines, detailing the solution to the
problem. Determine the maximum possible scale-up. Then, by removing bottlenecks to
scale-up, state the maximum possible scale-up and provide clear explanations of the
process changes required in order to accomplish the stated scale-up level. If additional
equipment is needed, as stated above, it must be parallel equipment that can be installed
without shut down. Determine the cost of such equipment, if it is recommended.

2. Provide a list of suggested process improvements that can enhance the profitability of
Unit 800. Provide a table that gives the purchased costs (use CBM from Capcost) and
specifications for any new equipment required. DO NOT include equipment from the
original design.

3. Provide a diagnosis and potential solution to the problem with P-802.

4. Provide an analysis of the suggestion by the summer intern.

5. Submit a written report, conforming to the guidelines, detailing the information in items 1
through 4.

6. Include an updated PFD and stream table for the modified process for scale-up.

7. Include, in an appendix, a legible, organized set of calculations justifying your

recommendations, including any assumptions made. In addition, a converged Chemcad
simulation of a modified design MUST be included in a separate appendix.

8. Include a signed copy of the attached confidentiality statement

Report Format

One report should be submitted per team. This report should be brief and should conform to
the guidelines, which are available at the end of the following web page:
http://www.che.cemr.wvu.edu/publications/projects/index.php. It should be bound in a three-
ring binder/folder that is not oversized relative to the number of pages in the report. Figures and
tables should be included as appropriate. An appendix must be attached that includes items such
 8

as the requested calculations and a Chemcad consolidated report (required) of the converged
simulation for your recommended case. Stream properties (viscosity, density, etc.) ARE NOT
to be included in the Chemcad consolidated report, but stream compositions (component molar
flowrates) must be included, and there will be a deduction if these rules are not followed. The
calculations in the appendix should be easy to follow. The confidentiality statement should be
the very last page of the report.

The written report is a very important part of the assignment. Reports that do not conform to
the guidelines will receive severe deductions and will have to be rewritten to receive credit.
Poorly written and/or organized written reports may also require re-writing. Be sure to follow
the format outlined in the guidelines for written reports.

Oral Presentation

You will be expected to present and defend your results during the week of November 12,
2012 through November 16, 2012. Your presentation should be 15-20 minutes, followed by
about a 30-minute question and answer period. Questions will be directed to a specific team
member, and the other team member may not answer unless specifically asked to answer the
question. Make certain that you prepare for this presentation since it is an important part of your
assignment. You should bring two hard copies of your slides to the presentation and hand them
out before beginning the presentation. Remember the guidelines regarding professional attire for
this presentation.

Other Rules

Each team member will receive the same grade for the technical content of the report and for
the written report. Different grades are possible for the oral presentation and for the response to
questions. Therefore, it is possible that each team member will receive a different grade for this
assignment.

You may not discuss this major with anyone other than the instructors and your partner.
Discussion, collaboration, or any interaction with anyone other than the instructor or your partner
is prohibited. This means that any cross talk among students about anything relating to this
assignment, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you, is a violation of the rules and is
considered academic dishonesty. Violators will be subject to the penalties and procedures
outlined in the University Procedures for Handling Academic Dishonesty Cases (see p. 5 of 2012-
13 Undergraduate Catalog (http://coursecatalog.wvu.edu/) or follow the link
http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/coursecreditstermsclassification/#Integrity_and_Dishonesty
or the link http://docs.facultysenate.wvu.edu/08Files/AcademicDishonestyFlowChart.pdf.

Consulting is available from the instructors. Chemcad consulting, i.e., questions on how to
use Chemcad, not how to interpret results, is unlimited and free, but only from the instructors.
Each team may receive five free minutes of consulting from the instructors. After five minutes
of consulting, the rate is 2.5 points deducted for 15 minutes or any fraction of 15 minutes, on a
cumulative basis. The initial 15-minute period includes the 5 minutes of free consulting.
 9

Late Reports

Late reports are unacceptable. The following severe penalties will apply:
• late report on due date before noon: one letter grade (10 points)
• late report after noon on due date: two letter grades (20 points)
• late report one day late: three letter grades (30 points)
• each additional day late: 10 additional points per day
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Appendix A
Reaction Kinetics

The kinetics for the reactions are as follows:

k
C3 H 6 + C6 H 6 ⎯⎯→
1
C9 H 12
(A-1)
propylene benzene cumene

r1 = k1c p cb mole/L reactor sec

⎛ − 24.90 ⎞ (A-2)
k1 = 3.5 × 10 7 exp⎜ ⎟
⎝ RT ⎠

k
C3 H 6 + C9 H12 ⎯⎯→
2
C12 H18
(A-3)
propylene cumene p - DIPB

r2 = k 2 c p cc mole/L reactor sec

⎛ − 30.15 ⎞ (A-4)
k 2 = 2.9 × 10 9 exp⎜ ⎟
⎝ RT ⎠

where the units of the activation energy are kcal/mol, the units of concentration are mol/L, and
the temperature is in Kelvin.

Appendix 2
Calculations and Other Pertinent Information

All of the pertinent calculations are on the embedded spreadsheet and Chemcad file, both of
which are also posted on eCampus.

cumene calcs.xlsx

cumene 2012.cc6
Material Balances Design Problem
Cumene Production

Background

Cumene (isopropyl benzene) is produced by reacting propylene and benzene over an acid
catalyst. Cumene may be used to increase the octane in gasoline, but its primary use is as a
feedstock for manufacturing phenol and acetone.

The plant where you are employed has been buying cumene to produce phenol. Management is
considering manufacturing cumene rather than purchasing it to increase profits. Someone has
made a preliminary sketch for such a process and has submitted to the engineering department
for consideration. Your group is assigned the problem of evaluating the sketch and
recommending improvements in the preliminary design.

Cumene Production Reactions

The reactions for cumene production from benzene and propylene are as follows:

C3H6 + C6H6 → C6H5-C3H7

propylene benzene cumene

C3H6 + C6H5-C3H7 → C3H7-C6H4-C3H7

propylene cumene diisopropyl benzene (DIPB)

The best technology for cumene production is a catalytic process that is optimized at 350°C and
25 atm. pressure. The benzene is kept in excess to limit the amount of DIPB product.

Process Description

The reactants are fed as liquids from their respective storage tanks. After being pumped up to
the required pressure dictated by catalyst operating conditions, the reactants are mixed, vaporized
and heated up to the reactor operating temperature. The catalyst converts the reactants to the
desired and undesired products according to the reactions listed above. The molar feed ratio is
2:1 benzene to propylene; propylene conversion is 99%; the product molar selectivity ratio is
31:1 cumene to DIPB. The product gases are cooled to 40°C at 25 atm. pressure to condense
essentially all of the cumene, DIPB, and unreacted benzene to a liquid. The unreacted propylene
and a propane impurity are separated from the liquid and are used as fuel gas. The liquid stream
is sent to two distillation towers. The first distillation tower separates benzene from cumene and
DIPB. The benzene purity level is 98.1 mole%. We have no chemical market for this stream
and plan to sell it as unleaded gasoline. The second distillation tower separates cumene from
DIPB. The cumene is 99.9 mole% pure. The DIPB stream will be sold as fuel oil. A sketch of
the process is attached. The reaction units and process streams are described in the tables.
 2

Table 1. Description of Process Units

Symbol Name Comments

V-201 Vaporizer Liquid feeds are vaporized and heated for reactor
R-201 Reactor Vapors are reacted over catalyst; temperature 350°C;
pressure 25 atm.; 99% propylene conversion per pass;
31/1 cumene/DIPB molar selectivity
S-201 Separator Vapor is cooled to 40°C at 25 atm. pressure, separating
essentially all of the benzene, cumene and DIPB as a
liquid from propylene and propane gases
T-201 Distillation Tower No. 1 Overhead stream contains 98.1 mole% benzene, balance
cumene; bottoms stream contains cumene and DIPB
T-202 Distillation Tower No. 2 Overhead stream contains 99.9 mole% cumene; bottoms
stream contains pure DIPB

Table 2. Description of Process Streams

Stream Number Comments

1 benzene>99.9 mole% pure; liquid feed

2 95 mole% propylene; 5 mole% propane; liquid feed
3 2/1 benzene/propylene molar feed ratio
4 99% propylene conversion; 31/1 cumene/DIPB molar selectivity
5 propylene + propane only
6 0 mole% propylene + propane
7 98.1 mole% benzene purity, balance cumene, sold as gasoline
8 0 mole% benzene
9 99.9 mole% cumene, balance DIPB; 100,000 tons/year production
10 100 mole% DIPB; sold as fuel oil

Problem

Your group needs to optimize the cumene manufacturing process to make maximum profit.
Your plant currently purchases 100,000 tons of cumene per year to make phenol. Calculate
material balances for the process in the sketch. Compute the value of the products and the cost
for raw materials. Feedstock costs and product values are listed in Table 3. The difference
between the product value and raw material costs is gross profit. We do not yet know how to
calculate operating expenses for different process configurations so that operating expense will
be ignored in these calculations.
 3

Table 3. Prices for Feedstock’s and Process Streams

Chemical or Fuel Price

benzene feed, >99.9% $0.90/gallon

propylene feed, 95 mole% propylene, 5 mole% propane $0.095/lb
cumene, >99.8 mole% $0.21/lb
fuel gas $0.080/lb
gasoline $0.60/gallon
fuel oil $0.50/gallon

Your assignment is to propose process modifications that increase gross profit. You are
constrained to operating the same catalyst with the same selectivity.

Design Groups

This is a group activity that will produce a group grade. You are to form your own 3 or 4 person
group. Larger or smaller groups are not acceptable. Individuals who do not form groups will be
assigned to one. Past experience suggests that students are happier in student-formed groups
than in instructor-assigned groups.

Design Report

Design groups are to submit a single report signed by each participating member . Groups
should follow department guidelines for design reports, which are distributed separately.
Material balance calculations should be made by hand and be attached as an appendix to the
typed report. Repetitive calculations made by computer (spreadsheet or programming) should be
accompanied by one representative hand calculation.

Report Grading

Grading will be based on both content (2/3) and writing style (1/3). Everyone who signs the
report as an author will receive the same grade. Individuals who do not contribute to the project
should not be included as authors.

Date Due

Design reports are due at 3:00pm on December 6, 1995.

E.L. Kugler
November 12, 1995
 Energy Balances and Numerical Methods
Design Project

Production of Cumene
Process Description
Figure 1 is a preliminary process flow diagram (PFD) for the cumene production process.
The raw materials are benzene and propylene. The propylene feed contains 5 wt% propane as
an impurity, It is a saturated liquid at 25°C. The benzene feed, which may be considered
pure, is liquid at 1 atm and 25°C. Both feeds are pumped to about 3000 kPa by pumps P-201
and P-202, are then vaporized and superheated to 350°C in a fired heater (H-201). The fired
heater outlet stream is sent to a packed bed reactor (R-201) in which cumene is formed. There
are no side-reactions or by-products. The reactor effluent is sent to a flash unit (V-201) in
which light gases (mostly propane and propylene, some benzene and cumene) are separated as
vapor in Stream 9. Stream 10, containing mostly cumene and benzene is sent to a distillation
column (T-201) to separate benzene for recycle from cumene product. The desired cumene
production rate is 100,000 metric tons/yr.

Process Details
Feed Streams

Stream 1: benzene, pure liquid, 25°C and 1 atm

Stream 2: propylene with 5 wt% propane impurity, saturated liquid at 25°C

Effluent Streams

Stream 9: fuel gas stream, credit may be taken for LHV of fuel

Stream 12: cumene product, assumed pure

Equipment

Pump (P-201):
The pump increases pressure of the benzene feed from 1 atm to about 3000 kPa.
Pump operation may be assumed isothermal, and the cost of energy may be neglected.
(Both of these assumptions are valid for this semester’s design only.)
 2

Pump (P-202):
The pump increases the pressure of the propylene feed to about 3000 kPa.. Pump
operation may be assumed isothermal, and the cost of energy may be neglected. (Both
of these assumptions are valid for this semester’s design only.)

Fired Heater (H-201):

The fired heater desubcools, vaporizes, and superheats the mixed feed up to 350°C.
Air and natural gas must be fed to the fired heater. Natural gas is priced at its lower
heating value. The fired heater is 75% efficient.

Reactor (R-201):
The reactor feed must be between 300°C - 400°C and between 2800 kPa - 3200 kPa.
Benzene must be present in at least 50% excess. Conversion of the limiting reactant is
92%. The reactor may be assumed isothermal, and the exothermic heat of reaction is
removed by vaporizing boiler feed water to make high-pressure steam. Credit may be
taken for the high-pressure steam.

The following reaction occurs:

C3 H 6 + C6 H 6 → C9 H12
propylene benzene cumene

There are no side reactions.

Flash Vessel (V-201):

This is actually a combination of a heat exchanger and a flash drum. The temperature
and pressure are lowered in order to separate the propane and propylene from the
cumene and benzene. Cooling water is used to lower the temperature.

Distillation Column (T-201):

Here all cumene in Stream 10 goes into Stream 12 (may be assumed pure cumene),
and is in the liquid phase. All benzene, propylene and propane goes to Stream 11, and
is also in the liquid phase. A distillation column requires both heat addition and heat
removal. Heat removal is accomplished in a condenser (not shown), which requires an
amount of cooling water necessary to condense the contents of Stream 11. Heat
addition is accomplished in a reboiler (not shown), which requires an amount of high-
pressure steam necessary to vaporize the cumene in Stream 12.
 3

Utility Costs
Low-Pressure Steam (446 kPa, saturated) $3.00/1000 kg

Medium-Pressure Steam (1135 kPa, saturated) $6.50/1000 kg

High-Pressure Steam (4237 kPa, saturated) $8.00/1000 kg

Natural Gas (446 kPa, 25°C) $3.00/106 kJ

Electricity $0.05/kW hr

Boiler Feed Water (at 549 kPa, 90°C) $300.00/1000 m3

Cooling Water $20.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 30°C
return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
return temperature should be no more than 15°C above the inlet temperature,
otherwise there is an additional cost of $0.35/106 kJ

Refrigerated Water $200.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 10°C
return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
return temperature is no higher than 20°C
if return temperature is above 20°C, there is an additional cost of $7.00/106 kJ

Data
Use data from References [1] or from any handbook (such as Reference [2]). The
following data are not readily available in these references.

Liquid Heat Capacity (range 25°C - 300°C)

Assume that the liquid heat capacity for benzene given in Reference [1] is valid for
all organic liquids.

Vapor Pressures
Vapor pressures may be interpolated or extrapolated from the following data:

normal boiling point additional vapor pressure point

T (K) T (K) 10-6 P (kPa)
benzene 353 562 4.87
propylene 225 365 4.59
propane 231 370 4.14
cumene 425 631 3.21
 4

Normal heat of vaporization

for cumene: 3.81 ´ 107 J/kmole

Heat of formation
for cumene: 3.933 ´ 106 J/kmole

Economic Analysis
When evaluating alternative cases, the following objective function should be used. It is
the equivalent annual operating cost (EAOC), and is defined as

EAOC = -(product value - feed cost - other operating costs - capital cost annuity)

A negative EAOC means there is a profit. It is desirable to minimize the EAOC; i.e., a large
negative EAOC is very desirable.

The costs for cumene (the product) and benzene (the feed) should be obtained from the
Chemical Marketing Reporter, which is in the Evansdale Library. The “impure” propylene
feed is $0.095/lb.

Other operating costs are utilities, such as steam, cooling water, natural gas, and
electricity.

The capital cost annuity is an annual cost (like a car payment) associated with the one-
time, fixed cost of plant construction. A list of capital costs for each piece of equipment will
be provided by Spring Break. You will learn to calculate the annuity value in ChE 38.

Other Information
You should assume that a year equals 8000 hours. This is about 330 days, which allows
for periodic shut-down and maintenance.

You should assume that two streams that mix must be at identical pressures. Pressure
reduction may be accomplished by adding a valve. These valves are not shown on the
attached flowsheet, and it may be assumed that additional valves can be added as needed.

Deliverables
Each group must deliver a report written using a word processor. The report should be
clear and concise. The format is explained in a separate document. Any report not containing
a labeled PFD and a stream table will be considered unacceptable. When presenting results
for different cases, graphs are greatly superior to tables. The report appendix should contain,
 5

for the optimal case, details of calculations that are easy to follow. These calculations may be
(neatly) hand-written. Calculations which can not be followed easily will lose credit.

Each group will give an oral report in which the results of this project are presented in a
concise manner. The oral report should be no more than 15 minutes, and each group member
must speak. A five-minute question-and-answer session will follow. Instructions for
presentation of oral reports will be provided in a separate document. However, the best way
to learn how to present an oral report, other than actually presenting one, is to make time to
see some of the oral reports presented by the juniors the week before you are to present your
report.

As mentioned in the cover memo, the written project report is due upon presentation of the
oral report. The oral reports will be Monday, April 22, 1995 (ChE 38 class) and Wednesday,
April 24, 1995 (ChE 41 class). There will be a project review on Friday, April 26, 1995 (ChE
41 class). In addition, everyone must attend at least one (and preferably both) of the senior
design presentations, either on Tuesday, April 23, 1995, or on Thursday, April 25, 1995
(substitutes for Thursday ChE 38 class). Furthermore, attendance is required of all students
during their classmates’ presentations (this means in the room, not in the hall or the lounge).
Failure to attend any of the above required sessions will result in a decrease in one letter grade
(per occurrence) from your project grade in both ChE 38 and ChE 41.

Anyone not participating in this project will automatically receive an F for ChE 38,
regardless of other grades earned in this classes.

Revisions
As with any open-ended problem; i.e., a problem with no single correct answer, the
problem statement above is deliberately vague. The possibility exists that as you work on this
problem, your questions will require revisions and/or clarifications of the problem statement.
You should be aware that these revisions/clarifications may be forthcoming.

References
1. Felder, R.M. and R.W. Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (2nd ed.),
Wiley, New York, 1986.

2. Perry, R.H. and D. Green, eds., Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook (6th ed.),
McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984, p. 9-74.
 Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics
Design Project

Production of Cumene

Process Objective Function

We are interested in gathering information that will allow our firm to enter the cumene
market at an opportune time. To accomplish this goal, we request that your design team
estimate the minimum price for cumene such that the construction and operation of a new
plant, which will produce 100,000 metric tons/yr of cumene, will be profitable. Compare your
calculated minimum cost for cumene with the current selling price. It can be found in the
latest edition of the Chemical Marketing Reporter at the Evansdale Library along with the cost
of the raw materials. Therefore, use the break-even price of cumene as the objective function
to optimize your process. The equation to be used to estimate this price is given below:

(Cumene Produced per Year) (CB) =

Annuity Value of Total Installed Cost + Annual Cost of Raw Materials + Annual Utility Cost -
Annual Revenue from Byproducts - Annual Credit from Fuel Gas and Steam

where CB is the break-even price for cumene

The above equation for estimating the cost of cumene is based on the price that cumene would
have to be sold for in order for the price to “break-even.” These economic details were
introduced in ChE 38, and will be covered in more detail in ChE 182/183. You should use a
10-year plant lifetime and an interest rate of 15%.

Cumene Production Reaction

The reaction for cumene production from benzene and propylene is as follows:

C3 H 6 + C6 H 6 → C9 H12
propylene benzene cumene

Process Description
The raw materials are benzene and propylene. Benzene and propylene are fed from
separate storage tanks (TK-201 and TK-202, not shown on the PFD (Figure 1)), through
pumps P-201 and P-202, to be heated by the fired heater (H-201). The storage tanks are
operated at ambient temperature, which is assumed to reach a maximum of 43°C, but not
 2

necessarily at ambient pressure. Two fuels are available for the fired heater. They are natural
gas and the fuel gas by-product of the process. The process feed to the reactor (R-201)
consists of 75% excess benzene. In the reactor, benzene and propylene react in an isothermal,
exothermic reaction to form cumene. The reactor temperature is held at its isothermal value
by internal heat exchange with boiler feed water. The process discharge of the reactor is fed
to a heat exchanger (E-201) in which Stream 8 is cooled. Stream 9 is fed to the flash vessel
(V-201) where the majority of the unreacted propylene and propane, and small amounts of
other components, are discharged overhead as fuel gas and the bottoms discharge (Stream 11)
consists of the remaining chemical components. The heat exchanger (E-201) and flash vessel
(V-201) may operate at any pressure and/or temperature below the exit conditions of the
reactor. You should add additional equipment as needed to effect this result. Stream 11 is
then fed to the T-201 distillation column. At least 90 wt. % of the cumene in Steam 11 exits
as product in Steam 12 and at least 90 wt.% of the benzene from Stream 11 exits with the
overhead recycle stream. The plant must produce at least 100,000 metric tons/yr of the
cumene product stream. Thise stream must exceed a weight specification of 99 wt.% cumene.

Process Details
Feed Streams

Stream 1: benzene, pure liquid

Stream 2: propylene with 5 wt.% propane impurity ($0.095/lb)

Effluent Streams

Stream 10: fuel gas stream, a credit may be taken for the fuel gas or it may
be reused in the process as fuel for H-201

Stream 12: cumene product, at least 99.0 wt.% cumene

Equipment

Pump P-201: The pump increases pressure of the benzene from the TK-201
benzene storage tank. The pump curves are shown in Figure 2.

Pump P-202: The pump increases pressure of the propylene from the TK-202
propylene storage tank. The pump curves are shown in Figure 3.

Fired Heater H-201: The fired heater heats Stream 6 until it is a vapor at the reactor
feed conditions. H-201 is fueled by a mixture of air and either
fuel gas or natural gas.
 4

Pressure Head Across Pump, ft of liquid 1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Flow of Benzene (at 41°C), liter/s

10

8
NPSHR, ft of liquid

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Flow of Benzene (at 41°C), liter/s

Figure 2: Pump and NPSH Curves for P-201 A/B

 5

1600
Pressure Head Across Pump, ft of liquid

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

-200

-400

-600

0 1 2 3

Flow of Propylene (at 25°C), liter/s

10

7
NPSHR, ft of liquid

0
0 1 2 3
Flow of Propylene (at 25°C), liter/s

Figure 3: Pump and NPSH Curves for P-202 A/B

 6

Storage Tank TK-201: The tank stores a three-day supply of benzene as a pure liquid at
ambient temperature. It is designed to withstand a pressure of
1.25 times the maximum operating pressure. The ambient
temperature is assumed to reach a maximum of 43°C.

Storage Tank TK-202: The tank stores a three-day supply of the “impure” propylene at
ambient temperature as a vapor/liquid mixture. It is bullet
shaped and designed to withstand a pressure of 1.75 times the
maximum operating pressure. It is installed horizontally on its
longer side. The ambient temperature is assumed to reach a
maximum of 43°C.

Heat Exchanger E-201: This heat exchanger cools or heats the discharge of reactor R-
201.

Flash Vessel V-201: The vessel separates the light components of Stream 8 from the
heavy components. Assume the separation is adiabatic.

Distillation Column T-201: The column separates cumene from benzene.

Reactor R-201: The reactor should be assumed to operate isothermally at 350°C

along its length and at an entrance pressure of 3000 kPa. These
conditions are required for optimal catalyst activity and should
not be changed. At these conditions, the per-pass conversion of
propylene equals 0.92.

Assignment
ChE 142 - Thermodynamics

1. A. Optimize the process using the pressure and temperature of flash vessel V-201 as the
decision variables. Assume that all vapor streams behave as ideal gases and all liquid
streams behave as ideal mixtures. This means that Raoult’s Law can be used for V-
201.

B. Using the optimum conditions reported from Part A, redo your calculations based on
non- ideal conditions. Recalculate the actual break-even cost and the actual
production rate of the cumene using the operating conditions and feed flow rates of
Part 1A.

C. Provide detailed hand calculations that verify the performance of the flash vessel for
ideal fluid phase equilibria of Part 1A and for the non-ideal conditions of Part 1B.
 7

ChE 110 – Fluid Mechanics

2. A. Design the pipe network that includes storage tanks TK-201, TK-202, and Streams 1-6.
You must specify the dimensions of the storage tanks, and the optimal pipe sizes
subject to the constraints of the pump curves. The H/D (height/diameter) ratio of the
tank TK-201 must fall within the range of 0.3 to 0.8, and the L/D (length/diameter) for
tank TK-202 must fall within the range of 5.0 to 1.0. Given the pump curves shown in
Figures 2 and 3, calculate the pump power requirements. Make sure that the NPSHA is
sufficient for operation of the pumps. You must show all calculations, including a
drawing of the system and NPSHA curves directly on the pump curve or facsimile. The
system should be capable of operation at flows that are ± 25% of the design production
rates. Equivalent pipe lengths should be taken as follows:

Stream # Equivalent Length

1 25
2 35
3 10
4 40
5 40
6 50

B. Show where you would place a control valve or valves and orifice plates in the feed
section to control the flow of the reactants. Assume that the pressure drop due to each
orifice plate is 20 inches of water. You must make sure the mechanical integrity of the
pipe network is not compromised.

C. Calculate the pressure drop across the packed bed reactor R-201. The reactor has a
volume of 5 m3. Our specifications require that the L/D (length/diameter) ratio for the
reactor fall between 0.5 and 3. Catalyst pellets are available in sizes of 0.1 mm, 1 mm,
and 10 mm. The density of the catalyst is 1600 kg/m3 and the void fraction throughout
the reactor is fixed at 0.4.
 8

ChE 111 – Heat Transfer

3. E-201 must be designed in detail, including tube size and pitch, baffle spacing, shell
diameter, detailed pressure-drop calculations, etc. Pressure drops for heat exchangers
other than E-201 may be estimated as 30 kPa for the tube side and 20 kPa for the shell
side. Individual heat transfer coefficients for heat exchangers other than E-201 may be
estimated as follows:

situation h (W/m2°C)

condensing steam 6000

condensing organic 1000

boiling water 7500

boiling organic 1000

flowing liquid 600

flowing gas 60

Utility Costs and Credits

Low-Pressure Steam (446 kPa, saturated) $3.00/1000 kg

Medium-Pressure Steam (1135 kPa, saturated) $6.50/1000 kg

High-pressure Steam (4237 kPa, saturated) $8.00/1000 kg

Natural Gas (446 kPa, 25°C) $3.00/106 kJ

Electricity $0.08/kWh

Boiler Feed Water (at 549 kPa, 90°C) $300.00/1000 m3

Fuel Gas (446 kPa, 25°C) $2.75/106 kJ (credit only)

Cooling Water $20.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 30°C
return pressure at 308 kPa
 9

The return temperature should be no more than 15°C above the inlet temperature,
6
otherwise there is an additional cost of $0.35/10 kJ

Refrigerated Water $200.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 10°C
return pressure at 308 kPa
return temperature is no higher than 20°C
if return temperature is above 20°C, there is an additional cost of $7.00/106 kJ

Equipment Costs (Purchased):

(Based on Carbon Steel)
Piping $/m = 5.0 (diameter, in)

Valves $100 (flow diameter, in)0.8

for control valve with orifice plate, double the price

Pumps $630 (power, kW)0.4

Heat Exchangers $1030 (area, m2)0.6

If extended surfaces are used, area is that for same size tubing without
fins. Then add a 25% surcharge for fins.

Compressors $770 (power, kW)0.96 + 400 (power, kW)0.6

5
Steam Turbine $2.18 X 10 (power output, MW)0.67
assume 75% efficiency

Fired Heater $635 (duty, kW)0.8

assume 80% thermal efficiency

Reactor R-201 $250,000

Storage Tank $1000V0.6

V = volume, m3

Vessels $[1.67(0.959 + 0.041P - 8.3X10-6P2)]´10z

z = (3.17 + 0.2D + 0.5 log10L + 0.21 log10L2)
D = diameter, m 0.3 m < D < 4.0 m
L = height, m L/D < 20
P = pressure, bar

size vessels for 10 min liquid residence time based on being half-full of
liquid
 10

Equipment Cost Factors

Total Installed Cost = Purchased Cost (4 + material factor + pressure factor)

Pressure Pressure does not apply to R-201 reactor, packing, trays or

(atm absolute) Factor catalyst since their cost equations include pressure
0 - 10 1.0 effects
1 - 10 0.0
10 - 20 0.6
20 - 40 3.0
40 - 50 5.0
50 - 100 10.0

Material
Material Factor
Carbon Steel 0.0
1/2 Cr-1/2 Mo. 2.0
Stainless Steel 4.0

Other Information
You should assume that a year equals 8000 hours. This is about 330 days, which allows
for periodic shutdown and maintenance.

Unless specifically stated in class, the information in this document is that which is valid
for this project only. Any information in the sophomore projects not specifically stated in this
document is invalid for this project. Information contained in this document will not
necessarily be valid for next semester’s project. You should feel free to look up other
information from other sources.

Deliverables
Each group must deliver a report written using a word processor. The report should be
clear and concise. The format is explained in a separate document. Any report not containing
a labeled PFD and a stream table will be considered unacceptable. PFDs from CHEMCAD
are generally unsuitable unless you modify them significantly. When presenting results for
different cases, graphs are superior to tables. For the optimal case, the report appendix should
contain details of calculations that are easy to follow. There should be separate appendices for
each class, ChE 110, ChE 111, and ChE 142, each containing calculations appropriate for the
respective class. These may be handwritten if done so neatly. Calculations that cannot be
easily followed will lose credit.
 11

Each group will give an oral report in which the results of this project will be presented in
a concise manner. The oral report should be between 15-20 minutes, and each group member
must speak. A 5-10 minute question-and-answer session will follow. Instructions for
presentation of oral reports will be provided in a separate document. The oral presentations
will be Thursday, November 21, 1996 starting at 11:00 a.m. and running until approximately
4:00 p.m.. Attendance is required of all students during their classmates’ presentations (this
means in the room, not in the hall or the computer room). Failure to attend any of the above
required sessions will result in a decrease of one-letter grade (per occurrence) from your
project grade in ChE 110, ChE 111, and ChE 142. Individuals with classes at 2:30 p.m. will
have their groups’ presentation scheduled first, and are excused from attending presentations
after 2:00 p.m..

The written project report is due by 11:00 a.m. Friday, November 22, 1996. Late projects
will receive a minimum of a one letter grade deduction.

Revisions
As with any open-ended problem ( i.e., a problem with no single correct answer), the
problem statement above is deliberately vague. The possibility exists that, as you work on this
problem, your questions will require revisions and/or clarifications of the problem statement.
You should be aware that these revisions/clarifications may be forthcoming.
 Reactors and Separations
Design Project

Production of Cumene
Process Objective Function
We must now complete gathering information that will allow our firm to enter the cumene
market at an opportune time. To accomplish this goal, we request that your design team
complete the estimate for the minimum price such that the construction and operation of a new
plant, which will produce 100,000 metric tons/yr of cumene, will be profitable. Compare your
calculated minimum cost for cumene with the current selling price. It can be found in the
latest edition of the Chemical Marketing Reporter at the Evansdale Library along with the cost
of the raw materials. Therefore, use the break-even price of cumene as the objective function
to optimize your process. The equation to be used to estimate this price is given below:

(Cumene Produced per Year) (CB) =

Annuity Value of Total Installed Cost + Annual Cost of Raw Materials + Annual Utility Cost -
Annual Revenue from Byproducts - Annual Credit from Fuel Gas and Steam

where CB is the break-even price for cumene

The above equation for estimating the cost of cumene is based on the minimum price that
cumene could be sold for to cover our operating expenses. These economic details were
introduced in ChE 38, and will be covered in more detail in ChE 182/183. You should use a
10-year plant lifetime and an interest rate of 15%.

Cumene Production Reaction

The kinetics for the reactions are given below. For the primary reaction:

k
C3 H 6 + C6 H 6 1 → C9 H12
propylene benzene cumene

r1 = k1c p cb mole / g cat sec

 −24.90 
k1 = 35
. × 104 exp 
 RT 

For the secondary reaction:

 2

k
C3 H 6 + C9 H12 2 → C12 H18
propylene cumene p − diisopropyl benzene

r2 = k2c p cc mole / g cat sec

 −35.08 
k2 = 2.9 × 106 exp 
 RT 

where the units of the activation energy are kcal/mol, the units of concentration are mol/L, and
the temperature is in Kelvin.

For a shell and tube packed bed, the recommended configuration, the following data may
be assumed:

catalyst particle diameter dp = 3 mm

catalyst particle density ρcat = 1600 kg/m3
void fraction ε = 0.50
heat transfer coefficient from packed bed to tube wall h = 60 W/m2°C
use standard tube sheet layouts as for a heat exchanger
if tube diameter is larger than in tube sheet layouts, assume that tube area is 1/3 of shell area

Assignment
General

Optimize the process using decision variables of your choosing. You should choose as
decision variables the design variables which most strongly affect the objective function.

ChE 112 - Separations

Determine the number of distillation columns required, their location, and enough
information for each distillation column to cost it. The distillation column that provides
the benzene recycle should be designed in detail.

ChE 172 - Reactors

The reactor is a packed bed with either cocurrent or countercurrent cooling. Your design
team must determine which reactor configuration is more economical and defend your choice
in both the presentation and written report. Therefore, optimize the process for both reactor
types. You must also choose and discuss your choice of decision variables. At no place along
the length of the process side of the reactor will the temperature deviate from the inlet
temperature by more than 20°C. Also, the reactor process side inlet temperature is
constrained between 300°C and 400°C. A filler material is available which has the same
density, diameter, void fraction, heat capacity, price, etc., of the catalyst. It is inert and may be
 3

installed within the reactor without catalyzing the reaction. Since Chemcad has no allowance
for the Ergun equation hand estimate the pressure drop on the process side of the reactor and
plug it into Chemcad for each simulation. Your design team must provide a copy of the design
equations that include the Ergun equation, and plots of temperature, pressure, and
concentrations of the chemical species verses reactor length for the optimal reactor design.
Solve these equations using Polymath or another ordinary differential equation solver. Repeat
this design/analysis for the other reactor type. Discuss/compare both the analytical and
Chemcad design.

Chemcad Hints
Use SRK for the entire process.

For heat exchangers with multiple zones, it is recommended that you simulate each zone
with a separate heat exchanger. Actual equipment may include several zones, so costing
should be based on the actual equipment specifications.

For the distillation columns, you should use the shortcut method (SHOR) to get estimates
for the rigorous distillation simulation (TOWR or SCDS). The shortcut method may be used
until an optimum case is near. It is then expected that everyone will obtain a final design
using rigorous simulation of the columns.

When simulating a process using “fake” streams and equipment, it is absolutely necessary
that the process flow sheet that you present not included any “fake” streams and equipment. It
must represent the actual process.
 4

Cost Data

Raw Materials
Benzene (>99.9 wt% purity) see Chemical Marketing Reporter

Propylene (£ 5 wt% propane impurity) $0.095/lb

Product
Cumene (>99 wt% purity) see Chemical Marketing Reporter

Utility Costs

Low Pressure Steam (446 kPa saturated) $3.00/1000 kg

Medium Pressure Steam (1135 kPa saturated) $6.50/1000 kg

High Pressure Steam (4237 kPa saturated) $8.00/1000 kg

Natural Gas (446 kPa, 25°C) $3.00/106 kJ

Fuel Gas (446 kPa, 25°C) $2.75/106 kJ

Electricity $0.08/kWh

Boiler Feed Water (at 549 kPa, 90°C) $300.00/1000 m3

Cooling Water $20.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 30°C
return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
return temperature is no more than 15°C above the inlet temperature

Refrigerated Water $200.00/1000 m3

available at 516 kPa and 10°C
return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
return temperature is no higher than 20°C

Waste Treatment $1/kg organic waste

 5

Equipment Costs (Purchased)

Pumps $630 (power, kW)0.4

Heat Exchangers $1030 (area, m2)0.6

Compressors $770 (power, kW)0.96 + 400 (power, kW)0.6

Turbine $2.18´105 (power output, MW)0.6

assume 65% efficiency

Fired Heater $635 (duty, kW)0.8

assume 80% thermal efficiency
assume can be designed to use any organic compound as a fuel

Vessels $[1.67(0.959 + 0.041P - 8.3´10-6P2)]´10z

z = (3.17 + 0.2D + 0.5 log10L + 0.21 log10L2)
D = diameter, m 0.3 m < D < 4.0 m
L = height, m L/D < 20
P = absolute pressure, bar

Catalyst $2.25/kg

Reactor Cost as vessel with appropriate additional volume for cooling coil
(fluidized bed) or tubes (shell and tube packed bed)

Packed Tower Cost as vessel plus cost of packing

Packing $(-110 + 675D + 338D2)H0.97

D = vessel diameter, m; H = vessel height, m

Tray Tower Cost as vessel plus cost of trays

Trays $(187 + 20D + 61.5D2)

D = vessel diameter, m

Storage Tank $1000V0.6

V = volume, m3

It may be assumed that pipes and valves are included in the equipment cost factors.
Location of key valves should be specified on the PFD.
 6

Equipment Cost Factors

Pressure < 10 atm, 0.0 does not apply to turbines, compressors, vessels,
(absolute) 10 - 20 atm, 0.6 packing, trays, or catalyst, since their cost
equations
20 - 40 atm, 3.0 include pressure effects
40 - 50 atm, 5.0
50 - 100 atm, 10

Carbon Steel 0.0

Stainless Steel 4.0

Total Installed Cost = Purchased Cost (4 + material factor + pressure factor)

Heat Exchangers
For heat exchangers, use the following approximations for heat transfer coefficients to
allow you to determine the heat transfer area:

situation h (W/m2°C)

condensing steam 6000

condensing organic 1000

boiling water 7500

boiling organic 1000

flowing liquid 600

flowing gas 60

Other Information
You should assume that a year equals 8000 hours. This is about 330 days, which allows
for periodic shutdown and maintenance.

Unless specifically stated in class, the information in this document is that which is valid
for this project only. Any information in the sophomore projects not specifically stated in this
document is invalid for this project.
 7

Deliverables
Each group must deliver a report written using a word processor. The report should be
clear and concise. The format is explained in a separate document. Any report not containing
a labeled PFD and a stream table, each in the appropriate format, will be considered
unacceptable. PFDs from CHEMCAD are generally unsuitable unless you modify them
significantly. When presenting results for different cases, graphs are superior to tables. For
the optimal case, the report appendix should contain details of calculations that are easy to
follow. There should be separate appendices for each class, ChE 112 and ChE 172, each
containing calculations appropriate for the respective class. These may be handwritten if done
so neatly. Calculations that cannot be easily followed will lose credit.

Each group will give an oral report in which the results of this project will be presented in
a concise manner. The oral report should be between 15-20 minutes, and each group member
must speak. A 5-10 minute question-and-answer session will follow. Instructions for
presentation of oral reports will be provided in a separate document. The oral presentations
will be Wednesday, April 16, 1997 starting at 11:00 a.m. and running until approximately 3:00
p.m. It is possible that some presentations will be on Thursday, April 17, 1997, beginning at
11:00 am. Attendance is required of all students during their classmates’ presentations (this
means in the room, not in the hall or the computer room). Failure to attend any of the above
required sessions will result in a decrease of one-letter grade (per occurrence) from your
project grade in ChE 112 and ChE 172.

The written project report is due by 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 17, 1997. Late projects will
receive a minimum of a one letter grade deduction.

Revisions
As with any open-ended problem ( i.e., a problem with no single correct answer), the
problem statement above is deliberately vague. The possibility exists that, as you work on this
problem, your questions will require revisions and/or clarifications of the problem statement.
You should be aware that these revisions/clarifications may be forthcoming.