Coursework- CHEN30071, CHEN 3008, CHEN30171

Question 1 [15 marks in total]

A mixture with a flow rate of 800 kg h-1 containing 25 wt% of a component 𝛼 in a

component 𝛽, needs to be separated using a pure solvent 𝛿 to obtain a 2.5 wt% of 𝛼
in the Raffinate

a) Calculate the minimum amount of the solvent needed for the desired separation.
[3 marks]
b) Calculate the number of stages needed to obtain the desired Raffinate is you are
using an amount of solvent of 1.8 Smin.
[4 marks]
c) Calculate the compositions and flow rates for the raffinate, and extract product
obtained in b).
[3 marks]
d) An enrichment section can be added to the system to allow less solvent content in
the extract and to improve the amount of solute recovered. Calculate the number of
stages needed to produce an extract with 47wt% of the solute with a S/F ratio of
0.47.
[5 marks]

Note: To solve this question, you should use the ternary diagram attached on
blackboard. Please, use different a different ternary diagram for a), b) and d).

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Question 2 [15 marks in total].

A saturated liquid mixture containing compounds W, X, Y and Z at the composition

given in Table 2.1 is to be separated using a distillation sequence of simple columns
in which all the columns operate at 1 atm. The feed to the first column is 200 kmol h -1

Table 2.1: Composition and observations of the feed to the first column of the
sequence.

Component Molar Relative volatility at P=1 Observations

composition atm
W 0.09 7.515 Very short chain alkane
compound, difficult to
condense
X 0.24 2.904 Middle boiler alkene
Y 0.40 1.350 Middle boiler alcohol
Z 0.27 1 Very strong acid,
corrosive

a. Based on the information given in Table 2.1, propose the two most
reasonable distillation sequences. Justify your selection based on rules and
heuristics and explain each of the steps of the sequences proposed.

[3 marks]

For the two sequences selected, calculate b, c, d and e for all the columns
making the following assumptions:

 All the feeds to every column are saturated liquids;

 The actual reflux ratio is 1.1 times that of the Rmin for each column;

 For each separation, assume that 99% of the light key goes to the distillate
and 1% to the bottoms. Also, assume that 99% of the heavy key goes to
the bottoms and 1% goes to the distillate;

 Hint: for the Underwood equation, if you need to iterate to solve for Θ, take
an initial value of Θ=1.12 to start iterating in all cases. (Note that this is not
necessarily the actual value of Θ).

b. The minimum number of trays needed.

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 [2 marks]
c. The minimum reflux ratio.

[2 marks]
d. The actual number of trays needed specifying how many correspond to the
rectifying and stripping sections.

[2 marks]

e. The total vapour load.

[2 marks]

f. Calculate the heat duty of the condensers for each column considering the
data in the Table 2.2 making the following assumptions:

 Assume total condensers;

 Assume that the enthalpy of vaporization of the mixture is a weighted average

of the composition of each compound in the corresponding stream, such that
𝑛

∆𝐻𝑣𝑎𝑝,𝑚𝑖𝑥 = ∑ 𝑥𝑖 ⋅ ∆𝐻𝑣𝑎𝑝,𝑖
𝑖=1

Table 2: Heats of vaporization of compounds W, X, Y and Z.

Compound ΔHvap (kJ kmol-1)

W 35000

X 38000

Y 42500

Z 45000

[2 marks]

g. Critically compare both sequences based on the total vapour load and the
total heat duty of the condensers. Then, make a final decision of which would
be the most reasonable sequence to operate with and justify it based on all
the information given in the problem.

[2 marks]

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