Chemical process

principle 1

Chap 2
Processes
and Process Variables
1
 Topic outcomes
•Explain the process concept.
1

•Determine mass/ mass flow rate, volume/ volumetric flow

rate, and mole/ mole flow rate using density and molecular
2 weight.

•Calculate the composition of a mixture in mass fraction and

mole fraction.
3

•Explain the absolute pressure and gauge pressure and

calculate an equivalent temperature in its various units.
4
PROCESS
Any operation or series of operations by which a
particular objective is accomplished. The operations
cause a physical or chemical change in a substance
or mixture of substances.
Material that enters a process is
referred as the INPUT or FEED, and
that which leaves is the OUTPUT or
PRODUCT
Common for processes to consist of
multiple steps, each of which is
carried out in a process unit, and
each process unit has associated with
What? How? it a set of INPUT and OUTPUT process
streams

So…
 INPUT Process OUTPUT
or Unit or
FEED PRODUCT

INPUT 1 OUTPUT 1
Process Process OUTPUT 2
Unit 1 or Unit 2
INPUT 2

Generally, the INPUTs and OUTPUTs are known as process streams. 4

 Distillation

Reactor

Absorption

Adsorption
PROCESS Heat Exchanger
UNIT
Crystallization

Extraction

Membrane
5
Dryer
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PROCESS
STREAMS

Amounts - mass,
volume
Composition - mole
%, wt %, ratio
Conditions - Pressure,
Temperature, etc
7
 PRODUCT 1, V1
(rich with Ethanol at T, P)

The quality of PRODUCT 1

Distillation
FEED, L1 kg/h depends on the efficiency
(heating at of the distillation unit.
50 wt % Water
80oC)
50 wt % Ethanol
at T, P

PRODUCT 2, L2
(rich with Water at T, P)

Given:
Bp of water = 100oC
Bp of ethanol = 80oC
8
PRODUCT 1, G2 kmol/h (G) FEED 2, L1 kmol/h
1 mol % CO2 Pure amine solvent at T, P
99 mol % CH4 at T, P

The gas stream is in contact

with the liquid stream
Absorption through various packings, and
due to the high solubility CO2
into amine, it dissolves into
the liquid stream remaining
CH4 in gas stream.

FEED 1, G1 kmol/h PRODUCT 2, L2 kmol/h

10 mol % CO2 containing CO2 at T, P
90 mol % CH4
at T, P
9
 Contents

Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Density & Specific Volume

Density Specific Volume

mass volume
density(r) =
.
volume .
specific volume (vˆ ) =
mass

Unit: Unit:
g cm-3; kg m-3; lbm ft-3 cm3 g-1; m3 kg-1; ft3 lbm-1

Densities of a pure solids and

liquids are essentially
inverse of density
independent of pressure and
vary slightly with temperature.
 Specific Gravity (SG)
 Specific Gravity (SG)- Ratio of the density () of a substance
to the density of a reference (ref) substance at a specific
condition:
SG = substance/ref
 SG is a dimensionless. To get the density of a substance,
multiply the SG value to the value of reference density, ref.

1000 kg m-3
1.000g cm-3 62.43lbm ft-3
ref = H2O
(l) (4˚C)

The dependence of the volume of mercury on temperature:

V(T) = Vo (1 + 0.18182 x 10-3T + 0.0078 x 10-6T2)
Where V(T)=volume of a given mass of mercury at temperature
T(oC)
Vo=Volume of the same mass of mercury at 0oC
 Exercise
A liquid has a SG of 0.50. Find
a) Density in g cm-3
0.5 1g
a) ρ = = 0.5 g cm-3
cm3

b) Density in lbm ft-3

0.5 62.43 lbm
b) ρ = = 31.215 lbm ft-3
ft3
c) Mass of 3 cm3 of this liquid
c) 3 cm3 0.5 1g
= 1.5 g
cm3

d) Volume occupied by 18 g of this liquid

d) 18 g cm3
= 36 cm3
0.5 g
Exercise

An empty 10 gal tank weights 4.5 lb. What

is the total weight of the tank plus the
water when it is filled with 5 gal of water?
total weight = total water + total tank

total weight = 5 gal 62.43 lbm 1 ft3 + 4.5lbm

ft3 7.4805 gal

total weight = 41.73lbm + 4.5lbm

total weight = 46.23lbm

 Calculate the density of mercury in lbm/ft3 and
calculate the volume in ft3 occupied by 215 kg of
mercury. Given SGHg = 13.546 and H2O(l) (4oC)
= 62.43 lbm/ft3.

Answer: Hg = 845.7 lbm/ft3, V = 0.560 ft3

Try yourself
 Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
Flow rate
 Continuous process involve movement of materials from one point to another with
certain rate.

 Flow rate- the rate at which a material is transported through a process line.

 Flow rate can be expressed as :

◦ mass flow rate (mass/time)
◦ volumetric flow rate (volume/time)
◦ molar flow rate (mol/time)

 The density of a fluid can be used to convert a known volumetric flow rate of a
process stream to the mass flow rate of that stream or vice versa ( ρ= m/v =
m/V)

 Flow meter is a device mounted in a process line that provides a continuous

reading of the flow rate in the line.

 Common flow meters: Rotameter and Orifice meter

Exercise
40 gal/min of hydrocarbon fuel having a
SG of 0.91 flow into a tank truck with
a load limit of 40 000 lb fuel. How
long will it take to fill the tank in the
truck?
40,000 lb 1.0 lb H2O/ft3 H2O 7.48 gallon 1 min
fuel
0.91 lb fuel/ft3 fuel 62.4 lb H2O/ft3 1 ft3 40 gallon
H2O
132 min
Exercise
 A liquid has a SG of 0.70. Find
a) Density in g/cm3
b) Density in lbm/ft3
c) Mass of 3 cm3 of this liquid
d) Volume occupied by 18 g of this liquid

SG of A = ρA / ρref
Exercise
Given,
m (hexane) = 6.59 g/s ,  =0.659 g/cm3 . Find V.

so, V = m/ = 6.59 g/s = 10 cm3/s

0.659 g/cm3
Given,
V (CCl4) = 100 cm3/min, ρ =1.595 g/cm3.
Find m.
so, m = Vρ = 100 × 1.595
= 159.5 g/min

21
Exercise
Calculate the volumetric and mass flowrate if a volume of 500 liters of water is
collected for a period of 5 minutes. Given the density of water is 1000 kg/m3.

i. Volumetric flowrate
= 500/5= 100 liters/min

ii. Mass flowrate

100 liter 1m3 1000 kg

100 kg/min
1 min 1000 liter 1 m3

22
 Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Chemical Composition

Moles & MW

Chemical Mass &

ppm & ppb Composition Moles
Fraction

Concentration
 Moles
 Moles – Latin word mean “heap” or “pile”

 Definition by 1969 International Committee on

Weights and Measures
◦ the amount of substance that contains as many
elementary entities (e.g. atoms, molecules, ions,
electrons) (6.022 x 1023) as there are atoms in 0.012 kg
of carbon-12 (12C)

 Formula : moles = mass/molecular weight

 Unit : g/mole , kg/kmol, lb/lbmole etc.

 One g-mole of any species contains 6.02 x 1023

(Avogadro’s number) molecules of that species.
 Molecular Weight

 Molecular weight of compound- sum of the atomic

weights of atoms that constitute a molecule of the
compound.
 Atomic weight of element- mass of an atom based on
carbon isotope 12C.

 If the molecular weight of a substance is M, then

there are M kg/kmol, M g/mol, and M lbm/lb-mole of
this substance.

 At 1 mol of a substance, its mass in gram is equal to

its molecular weight.

 Eg. CO has molecular weight of 28. Hence, at 1 mol,

mass of CO is 28 g. At 1 kmol, mass of CO is 28 kg.
Average Molecular Weight

 The average molecular weight is mean

molecular weight of a mixture (kg/kmol,
lbm/lb-mole, etc.).

◦ If yi is the mole fraction of the component i of the

mixture and Mi is the molecular weight of the
component i :
M  y1M1  y2M2  ...  ynMn  i 1 yiMi
n

◦ If xi is the mass fraction of the component i of

the mixture and Mi is the molecular weight of the
component i:
1 x1 x2 xn n
xi
   ...  
M M1 M2 Mn i 1 Mi
 Mass and Mole Fractions
 Process streams consist of mixtures of liquids or
gases, or solutions of one or more solutes in a
liquid solvents.

 The following terms may be used to define the

composition of a mixture of substances, including
a species A.

 Mass fraction: xA= mass of A / total mass

Unit: kg A/kg total; g A/g total; lbm A/lbm total

 Mole fraction: yA= moles of A/ total moles

Unit: kmol A/kmol total; lb-moles A/lb-mole total
Exercises
a) What is molar flow rate for 100kg/h CO2
(M=44) fed to the reactor?

b) What is corresponding mass flow rate of

850lb-moles/min CO2?

c) How many gram of O2 consist in 100g of

CO2?

d) Find number of molecules of CO2 in 100g of

CO2?
 Exercise
A mixture of gases has the following mass
composition:
O2 16%
CO 4%
CO2 17%
N2 63%
What is the molar composition?
 Solution
4 steps to convert from mass fractions to
moles fractions:
1. Assuming as a basis of calculation a
mass of the mixture (e.g. 100 kg or 100
lbm).
2. Using the known mass fractions to
calculate the mass of each component in
the basis quantity.
3. Convert these masses to moles using
their molecular weights.
4. Taking the ratio of the moles of each
component to the total number of moles.
 Get
from
Solution %
Change table mi/Mi ni/total ni
to mass B1

Basis: 100g of mixture

Mass Mole
Component Fraction Mass MW Moles Fraction
i xi mi Mi ni yi
O2 0.16 16 32 0.500 0.152
CO 0.04 4 28 0.143 0.044
CO2 0.17 17 44 0.386 0.118
N2 0.63 63 28 2.250 0.686
Total 1.00 100 3.279 1.000
 Find mole fraction and average molecular weight

Component No. Mole Mol Mi

Fraction, yi
N2 40
O2 30
CO2 10
Total 80

33
 exercise

3
4

5
Concentration
Mass concentration (of a component of a mixture/solution):
The mass of this component per unit volume of the mixture
(g/cm3, lbm/ft3, kg/in3,…)
mass of component A
massconcen tration 
Volume of mixture
Molar concentration (of a component of a mixture/solution):
The .
number of moles of this component per unit volume of the
mixture (kmol/m3, lb-moles/ft3, …)
moles of component A
molarconce ntration 
Volume of mixture
Molarity (of a solution):
The value of the molar concentration of the solute expressed in
gram-moles solute/liter solution (Eg: 2 molar sol of A ≡ 2 mol
A/liter sol) moles of component A
Molarity 
Volume of mixture in Liter
 A 0.50 molar aqueous solution of
sulfuric acid flows into a process
unit at a rate of 1.25 m /min.
The SG of the solution is 1.03.
calculate :

 the mass concentration of H2SO4 in

kg/m3,
 the mass flow rate of H2SO4 in kg/s and
 The mass fraction of H2SO4

Try this…
Parts per million (ppm)&
Parts per billion (ppb)
 To express the concentrations of trace species in
mixtures of gases or liquids.
 May refer to mass ratios (usual for liquids) or mole
ratios (usual for gases). How many parts (in gram or
moles) of the species are present per million or billion
parts of the mixture.

ppmi= yi x 106
ppbi = yi x 109
 15 ppm SO2 in air meaning that:
every million moles of air contains 15 moles of SO2
a.k.a. mole fractions of SO2 in air is 15 x 10-6
 Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Pressure
 A pressure is the ratio of a force to the area
on which the force acts (P= F/A).
 Pressure units: N/m2, dynes/cm2, lbf/in2, psi,
Pa.

 Hydrostatic pressure of the fluid- the pressure

P of the fluid at the base of the column.
P  P0  gh
Head - the height of a hypothetical column of

the fluid that would exert the given pressure
at the top were zero.
 force 
P    fluid gPh head of fluid 
 area 
 Atmospheric, Absolute & Gauge
Pressure
 The atmospheric pressure can be thought of as the pressure
at the base of a column of fluid (air) located at the point
measurement (e.g. at sea level).

 A typical value of the atmospheric pressure at sea level,

760.0 mm Hg, has been designated as a standard pressure
of 1 atmosphere.

 Pressure-measuring devices give gauge pressure of fluid.

 A gauge pressure of zero indicated that the absolute

pressure (fluid pressure) is equal to atmospheric pressure.

 Relationship between absolute pressure and gauge pressure

is:
Pabsolute  Pgauge  Patmopheric
Ph (mm Hg) = Po (mm Hg) + h (mm Hg)
Fluid Pressure Measurement

 Common pressure measurement devices –

 Bourdon gauge: hollow tube closed at one end
and bent into a C configuration.
 Manometer: U-shaped tube partially filled with
fluid of known density.
Figure 3.4-3 (p. 61)
Bourdon gauge.
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 4/E by Richard M. Felder, Ronald W. Rousseau, and Lisa G. Bullard
Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Manometer configuration

Figure 3.4-4 (p. 61)

Manometers.
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 4/E by Richard M. Felder, Ronald W. Rousseau, and Lisa G. Bullard
Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
How it works?

 When the ends of the tubes are exposed

to different pressures, the field level drops
in the high pressure arm and rise in the
low pressure arm.

 The pressures difference can be calculated

from the measured difference between
the liquid level in each arm
Pressure
 General Manometer Equation:
P1 + 1gd1 = P2 + gd2 + fgh
.
 Differential Manometer Equation:
P1 - P2 = (f - )gh

 Manometer Formula for gases:

P1 - P2 = h
 • 760 mmHg
• 1 atm
Atmospheric • 1.013 bar
• 101.3 kPa
Pressure • 14.7 psi (lb/sq.in.)

• Pressure of zero corresponds to a perfect

vacuum
Absolute • sum of atmospheric pressure and gauge
pressure
Pressure • Pabs = Pgauge + Patm

• Reading from the gauge

• Relative to atmospheric pressure
Gauge • zero means abs pressure = atmospheric
pressure
Pressure • from: Pabs = Pgauge + Patm
• Pgauge = Pabs- Patm 48
 Contents

Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Temperature
 Temperature of a substance in a particular state of
aggregation (solid, liquid, or gas) is a measure of the
average kinetic energy possessed by the substance
molecules.
 Some temperature measuring devices: resistance
thermometer, thermocouple, pyrometer and
thermometer.
 temperature conversion equation

T  K   T  C   273.15
T   R   T   F   459.67
T   R   1.8T  K 
T   F   1.8T  C   32
Example 3.5-1 Solution Table 1 (p. 65a)
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 4/E by Richard M. Felder, Ronald W. Rousseau, and Lisa G. Bullard
Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Example
Consider the interval from 20˚F to 80˚F
a) Calculate the equivalent temperature in
˚C and the interval between them
T ( F )  32
T (C ) 
1.8
 20  32 
T1 (20 F )   C  6.7C
 1.8 
 80  32 
T2 (80 F )   C  26.6C
 1.8 
T  T2  T1  26.6  (6.7)  33.3C

b) Calculate directly the interval in ˚C

between the temperature T (C )  T (F )  1C
1.8 F
1C
 (80  20) F   33.3C
1.8 F
 Process Variables

Density &
Chemical
Specific Flow rate Pressure Temperature
Composition
Gravity
 Topic outcomes
• Determine mass/ mass flow rate, volume/

DONE
volumetric flow rate, and mole/ mole flow
1 rate using density and molecular weight.

• Calculate the composition of a mixture in

mass fraction and mole fraction.
2
• Explain the absolute pressure and gauge
pressure and calculate an equivalent
3 temperature in its various units.