CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS

1. Two thousand kilograms of five percent slurry of calcium hydroxide in water is to be

prepared by diluting twenty percent slurry. The percentages are by weight. How much
20% slurry do you need?
A. 500 kg
B. 1500 kg
C. 1750 kg
D. none of these
2. Consider the production of a nitration acid by mixing 70% nitric and 98% sulfuric acid.
How much is the number of distinct chemical species in this process?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
For numbers 3 and 4, refer to the figure below

3. If nitration acid is made up using oleum in place of the 98% sulfuric acid, how many
distinct chemical species are there?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
4. If nitration acid is made up using oleum in place of the 98% sulfuric acid, how many
independent components/species are there?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
5. The feed stream to a reactor contains ethylene = 16%, oxygen = 9%, nitrogen = 31%,
and hydrogen chloride. If the ethylene flow is 5000 kg/hr, calculate the total stream flow.
All percentages are by weight.
A. 31250 kg/hr
B. 2813 kg/hr
C. 9687 kg/hr
D. 13750 kg/hr
6. Carbon dioxide is added at a rate of 10 kg/hr to an air stream and the air is sampled at a
sufficient distance downstream to ensure complete mixing. If the analysis shows 0.45%
v/v CO2, calculate the air-flow rate in kg/hr.
A. 1560
B. 6075
C. 2240
D. none of these
7. In a test on a furnace fired with natural gas (composition 95% methane, 5% nitrogen),
the following flue gas analysis was obtained: carbon dioxide 9.1%, carbon monoxide
0.2%, oxygen 4.6%, nitrogen 86.1%,all percentages by volume. Calculate the
percentage excess air flow (percentage above stoichiometric).
 A. 15%
B. 22%
C. 34%
D. none of these
8. To ensure complete combustion, 20% excess air is supplied to a furnace burning natural
gas. The gas composition (by volume) is methane 95%, ethane 5%. Calculate the moles
of air required per mole of fuel.
A. 207.5 moles
B. 11.86 moles
C. 1.2 moles
D. none of these
9. In the manufacture of vinyl chloride (C2H4Cl2) by the pyrolysis of dichloroethane (DCE),
the reactor conversion is limited to 55% to reduce carbon formation, which fouls the
reactor tubes. Calculate the quantity of DCE fed to the reactor to produce 5000 kg/h of
VC.
A. 80 kmol/hr
B. 145.5 kmol/hr
C. 44 kmol/hr
D. none of these
10. In the production of ethanol by the hydrolysis of ethylene, diethyl ether is produced as a
byproduct. A typical feed stream composition is 55% ethylene, 5% inerts, 40% water;
and product stream: 52.26% ethylene, 5.49% ethanol, 0.16% ether, 36.81% water,
5.28% inerts. Calculate the selectivity of ethylene for ethanol.
Reactions: C 2 H 4 + H 2 O →C 2 H 5 OH
2 C2 H 5 OH →(C2 H 5)2 O+ H 2 O
A. 94.4%
B. 5.44%
C. 10%
D. 9.45%
11. In the chlorination of ethylene to produce dichloroethane (DCE), the conversion of
ethylene is reported as 99.0%. If 94 mol of DCE are produced per 100 mol of ethylene
reacted, calculate the overall yield based on ethylene. The unreacted ethylene is not
recovered.
C 2 H 4 + Cl2 →C 2 H 4 Cl 2
A. 94%
B. 93.1%
C. 66.7%
D. 49.33%
12. In the production of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, the conversion, based on
either raw material, is limited to 15%. The ammonia produced is condensed from the
reactor (converter) product stream, and the unreacted material is recycled. If the feed
contains 0.2% argon (from the nitrogen separation process), calculate the purge rate
(mole purge/mole feed) required to hold the argon in the recycle stream below 5.0%.
Percentages are by volume.

A. 4
 B. 5
C. 8
D. none of these
13. A disitillation column separates a feed of 10,000 kg/hr of 50% benzene- toluene mixture.
8,000 kg/hr is recycled back to the column. The distillate withdrawn contains 95%
benzene and the bottoms contains 5% benzene. Find the reflux ratio
A. 0.5
B. 0.6
C. 1.0
D. D. 2.0
14. A furnace is fired with petroleum oil containing 80% C, 13% H, 3% S, 1% N, and 3% O.
determine the moles theoretical air required for the combustion of one kilogram of oil.
A. 0.09917
B. 99.17
C. 0.4722
D. 472.2
15. A pure saturated hydrocarbon is burned with excess air. Orsat analysis of the products
of combustion shows 9.08% CO2, 1.63% CO, 5.28% O2 and no free H2. Calculate the
formula of the hydrocarbon.
A. C2H6
B. C3H8
C. C4H10
D. C5H12
16. A pure saturated hydrocarbon is burned with excess air. Orsat analysis of the products
of combustion shows 9.08% CO2, 1.63% CO, 5.28% O2 and no free H2. Calculate the
percent excess air supplied.
A. 20 %
B. 25 %
C. 30 %
D. 35 %
17. One drier will dry a material from 45% moisture (wet basis) to 20% moisture (dry basis)
from here the material enters another drier where the H2O content is further reduced to a
give a final product weighing 1000 kg. If the total evaporation form both driers is 800 kg,
the moisture is
A. 5%
B. 2%
C. 3%
D. 1%
18. A mill produces wet paper containing 15% water by weight (wet basis). This water paper
is fed in a continuous steady-state operation through a drier where the water content is
reduced to 6% by weight. If the heating cost is 5 centavos for every pound of water
removed from the paper in the drying operation, what is the heating cost per 100 lb of
wet paper fed into the dryer?
A. P1.50
B. P0.36
C. P0.48
D. P2.00
19. If the reaction of 3.82 g magnesium nitride with 7.73 g of water produced 3.6 g of
magnesium oxide, what is the percent yield of this reaction?
 A. 94.5 %
B. 78.8 %
C. 46.6 %
D. 49.4 %
20. A furnace completely burns coal containing 80% C. Analysis of the fuel gas shows
14.5% CO2, 3.76% O2 and no CO. What is the percentage of the net hydrogen in the
coal?
A. 6.37%
B. 8.90%
C. 10.12%
D. 14.25%
21. If 1 L of ethyl alcohol is mixed with 1 L of water at 20°C, how many kilograms of solution
result? How many liters?
A. 1.97L
B. 2.31 L
C. 4.11 L
D. 1.04 L
22. A liquid adhesive, which is used to make laminated boards, consists of a polymer
dissolved in a solvent. The amount of polymer in the solution must be carefully controlled
for this application. When the supplier of the adhesive receives an order for 3000 kg of
an adhesive solution containing 13 wt% polymer, all it has on hand is (1) 500 kg of a 10
wt% solution, (2) a very large quantity of a 20 wt% solution, and (3) pure solvent.
Calculate the weight of each of the three stocks that must be blended together to fill the
order. Use all the 10 wt% solution.
1700, 800
For items 23-25
[Past board exam] From sugar cane, ethanol is commercially produced at a rate of 100000
L/day (99.5% v/v).From here, fermentation occurs at a rate of 0.511 kg ethanol per kilogram of
fermentable sugar. If the syrup is 53% fermentable sugarand cane juice is 25% syrup with
distillation and fermentation being 99% and 90% efficient, respectively
23. Calculate the mass of ethanol solution produced
A. 176.32 MT/day
B. 322.38 MT/day
C. 1302.54 MT/day
D. 78.58 MT/day
24. Calculate the mass flowrate of the syrup entering the fermenter
A. 176.32 MT/day
B. 322.38 MT/day
C. 1302.54 MT/day
D. 78.58 MT/day
25. Calculate the mass flowrate of the cane juice feed
A. 176.32 MT/day
B. 322.38 MT/day
C. 1302.54 MT/day
D. 78.58 MT/day
For items 26-28.
A common method used in manufacturing sodium hypochlorite bleach is by the reaction
Cl 2+ NaOH → NaCl+ NaOCl+ H 2 O
Chlorine gas is bubbled through an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide after which the
desired product is separated from the sodium chloride. A water-NaOH solution that contains
1145 lb of pure NaOH is reacted with 851 lb of gaseous chlorine. The NaOCl formed weighs
618 lb.
26. What is the limiting reactant?
A. Cl2
B. NaOH
C. NaCl
D. NaOCl
27. What is the percent excess of the excess reactant used?
A. 19.2%
B. 31.2%
C. 45.7%
D. 51.3%
28. What is the degree of completion of the reaction, expressed as the moles of NaOCl
formed to the moles of NaOCl that would have formed if the reaction had gone to
completion?
A. 0.40
B. 0.53
C. 0.69
D. 0.75
29. A multiple stage evaporator concentrates a weak NaOH solution from 3% to 18%, and
process 2 tons of solution per day. How much product is made per day? How much
water is evaporated per day?
A. P=482.24 lbs; W = 2,445 lbs
B. P=598.43 lbs; W = 2,434 lbs
C. P=666.67 lbs; W = 3,334 lbs
D. P=723.49 lbs; W = 3,445 lbs
30. The feed water to the reverse osmosis plant has dissolved solids to the extent of 5000
mg/L. The feed-to-product ratio (on mass basis) is 4:3. The treated water (product) from
the plant contains 600 mg/L of solids. Find the dissolved solids in the reject stream.
A. 18200 mg/L
B. 19200 mg/L
C. 20200 mg/L
D. 21200 mg/L
ANSWERS:
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. B
8. B
9. B
10. A
11. B
12. A
13. B
14. D
15. B
16. B
17. D
18. C
19. B
20. A
21. A
22. A
23. D
24. B
25. C
26. A
27. A
28. C
29. C
30.