Component Boiling Point Destination Code

Ethylene (C2H4) -103.7 0 C Recycle

Oxygen gas(O2) -183 0 C Recycle
PX 110 0 C Main Product
Wax 130 0 C By- product
2354806

CHMT3044A ASSIGNMENT 1:

Question 1:

Question 2:

O2 Polymerization PX

Ethylene Reaction Wax

2000C2H4 + O2 →C2H4(200) (PX)…1

6C2H4 + O2 → C2H4(2) (Wax)…2

Assumptions:

The polymerisation reaction also leads to formation of Wax (by-product).

O2 acts as an initiator (5Oppm by weight)

Steady state process (i.e., No accumulation)

Background information about O2 as an initiator:

- We are told that O2 is an initiator in the above polymerisation reaction. This implies that,
regardless of O2 taking part in the reaction, as a reactant, it does not fully react. Thus,
initiators are not used efficiently in free-radical polymerisations, but can react with other
reactants in a system which makes the efficiency of an initiator to be less than 100%. This is
more evident in the reaction process, whereby, in the 1st reaction it takes part as a reactant
but none of it comes out in the products. In the second reaction, a reaction essentially
detailing how the by-product is formed again shows that the O2 is present in the reactants
but then none of it appears in the products (only Wax comes out). This information is
somehow enough to deduce that the same O2 can be taken as an excess reagent. This will
make Ethylene, which is the other reactant to be the limiting reagent.

Input = Output …3

Mass in =Mass out …4

>Let A = C2H4, B=O2, D= Wax and PX=PX

 moles of A reacted
Conversion ( X )=
moles of A fed into a reactor
F A reacted
Thus, X =
F A0

Also, 100 000 metric tons/annum = 0.203713 kmol/h

≈ 0.204 kmol/h

>From the 1st reaction:

FA reacted = 2000 * 0.204 kmol/h

=408 kmol/h

>Overall FA reacted:

2006
FA reacted =408 *
2000
=409.224kmol/h

>Overall X:

F A reacted
X=
F A0
409.224
¿
FA0

409.224
∗28 kg
X
¿> F A 0 =
h

>From 2nd reaction:

F A 2=F Aoverall−F A 1

¿ 409.224−408
¿ 1.224 kmol /h
 1.224
F D reacted =
6
¿ 0. 205 kmol /h
¿ F D Out

F B=( 50∗10−6 )∗ ( 409.224

X )∗28
0.573
¿
X

F 0.573
B 0=¿ ∗32 ¿
X

0.0179
¿ kg /h
X

F A out =F A 0 −F A reacted

¿ ( 409.224
X )
−409.224
kmol
h

0 kmol /h
F B out = =0 kg/h
X

F D out =0. 205 kmol /h

F PX =0.204 kmol/h

Mass In:

11458.272
ṁA0= kg /h
X
 0.57 3
ṁ BO = kg /h
X

Mass Out:

ṁ A out = ([ 409.224
X ) ]
−409.224 ∗28 kg/h

0.0179∗32 0.573
ṁ B out = kg/h= kg /h
X X

ṁ D out =0. 205 kmol /h ≈ 68.376 kg /h

ṁPX out =0.204 kmol /h≈ 34.272 kg /h

Question 3

EP=Value of Product−Raw Materials

EP=[ ( PX Price∗ṁPX out ) + ( Wax Price∗ṁWax out ) ] −¿

(
¿ [ ( R 5 .781∗11415 ) + ( 0 ) ] −[ R 3 .
587∗11415
X )(
+ R 12 .
660∗0.57 3
X )]

¿ ( R 65990.115 )−¿
R 40952.86 kg /h
¿ R 65990.11 5 kg /h−
X

Graph:
 EP vs X graph
50000
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
-50000
Economic Potential

-100000
-150000
-200000
-250000
-300000
-350000
-400000
Conversion

We aim for maximum conversion. It makes sense to pick our required conversion (X) as the value of
‘X’ from the x-axis as the one that gives the highest corresponding economical potential on the y-
axis. Graphically, this will be a point in the curve where the graph reaches the peak. Algebraically, all
corresponding values of EP will be calculated by substituting selected values of X (ranging between 0
to 1.0) into the above equation, and pick the value of X which has the corresponding EP value being
the biggest of them all within the range.

 X = 0.97

PX 0.204 kmol /h
Selectivity: = = =1
Wax 0. 205 kmol /h

Quesation 4:

Component Mass Flowrate-in (kg/h) Mass Flowrate-out (kg/h)

Ethylene 11415 354.3795
Oxygen 0.590721 0
PX 0 11415
Wax 0 34.272

Question 5: