CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

MASS & ENERGY BALANCING WITHOUT REACTION

1. Reading a psychrometric chart

Air at 25 ˚C and 1 atm has a relative humidity of 20%. Use the psychrometric chart to
estimate:
a) absolute humidity (moisture content)
b) humid volume
c) specific enthalpy at saturation
d) enthalpy deviation at 25 ˚C and rel hum 20%
e) specific enthalpy at 25 ˚C and rel hum 20%
f) wet bulb temperature
g) dew point temperature

2. Distillation of benzene and toluene

100 mol/s of an equimolar liquid mixture of benzene (B) and toluene (T) at 10 ˚C is fed to a
distillation column in which the mixture is heated to 50 ˚C. The liquid product from the
column is 40 mol% B and the vapour product is 68.4 mol% B.
Using a systematic method (flowchart, DOF, assumptions, mass and energy balances),
calculate how much heat (MW) must be transferred to the mixture?

Component Specific enthalpy (kJ/mol) @ 10 ˚C Specific enthalpy (kJ/mol) @ 50 ˚C

B (l) 0 5.33
T (l) 0 6.34
B (v) 37.52
T (v) 42.93
Reference: 10 ˚C, 1 atm
 CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

3. Alumina Refinery Calciner stack gas cooling in a waste heat boiler

Alumina calciner combustion gases contain 230 mol/s CO 2, 400 mol/s H2O, 115 mol/s O 2 and
2000 mol/s N2 at 900 ˚C and 1 atm. Before exiting to the atmosphere, the calciner exhaust
gases pass through a waste heat boiler which recovers valuable heat and produces steam
from fresh process water (see process diagram below). The calciner exhaust gases are
cooled to 450 ˚C in this waste heat boiler.
Using a systematic method (flowchart, assumptions, mass and energy balances),
a) calculate the amount of heat (Q, in MW) that is transferred from the cooling gases,
b) calculate the amount of saturated steam at 50 bar can be produced in the waste
heat boiler if the inlet water temperature is 40 ˚C?
c) explain how the waste heat boiler contributes to the plant profitability.

Hot stack gases

Calciner stack gases1 Waste Heat Cooled
Cooled stackstack
gases gases
Boiler
Q
Inlet process water
Q
3 Steam
ExcExhan
Exchanger 4 Steam
Press = 50

Refer to the enthalpy tables in Appendix B of this worksheet.

4. Alumina Refinery Flash Tank

In an alumina refinery, 1000 t/h of digested slurry at 60 bar and 280 ˚C enters an adiabatic
flash tank operating at 24 bar. Saturated steam flashes off this tank and this steam is
returned to the upstream Digestors to heat the digestion liquor. The cooled slurry exits the
flash tank at 220 ˚C then passes to the next flash tank in the train.
The enthalpy of the feed slurry to the flash tank is 980 kJ/kg (ref 25 ̊C, 1 atm) and the
flowrate of steam flashing off this tank is 10% of the total feedrate into the tank.
Using a systematic method (flowchart, DOF, assumptions, mass and energy balances),
a) calculate the specific enthalpy (kJ/kg) of the cooled slurry exiting the flash tank,
b) calculate the amount of heat (Q, in MW) that can be transferred to the Digestor from
this flash steam assuming that the condensate exit conditions are 1 bar and 100 ˚C.

Refer to the enthalpy tables in Appendix B.

 CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

5. Two-stage air conditioner

A conventional two-stage air conditioner system, consisting of a cooler-condenser and a
heater, is used to dehumidify and heat the air before it enters a fluidised bed. 10,000 m 3/h
air enters the system at 25 ˚C and 40% relative humidity and exits the heater at 50 ˚C and an
absolute humidity of 0.006 kg H 2O/ kg dry air. The flow diagram is shown below.

a) Plot the position of the air intake (stream 1) and the heater outlet air (stream 4) on
the psychrometric chart.
b) Calculate the mass flowrate (kg/h) of the air intake.
c) Perform a DOF analysis (mass balance) for the overall air conditioner system and
then determine the flowrate of water (kg/h) exiting the cooler-condenser.
d) Determine the temperature of the air leaving the cooler-condenser. Plot the position
of this stream on the psychrometric chart.
(Hint: moisture content of stream 3 is the same as stream 4).
e) Calculate the cooler load (Qc) and the heater load (Q H) in kW.
(assume a heat capacity of the condensed water of 4.18 kJ/kg ˚C)
 CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

Appendix A - Psychrometric chart air-water

 CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

APPENDIX B: Enthalpy Charts

 CHEE2001 2020 Tutorial Week 8

Source: Felder & Rousseau Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes