Problem 1.

Optimum Temperature for Sulfur Dioxide Reactor

The head of your design group has asked you to prepare a report
dealing with the use of a special catalyst for oxidizing SO 2 to SO3. This
catalyst has shown excellent activity at low temperatures, and it is possible
that it may permit you to get good SO, yields by using only one standard-size
reactor instead of the conventional two.

Your report will be circulated among the other members of your design
group and will be discussed at the group meetings. This report is to be
submitted to the head of your design group.

Some general remarks concerning your report follow:

A. The report should include the following:

1. Letter of transmittal (the letter to the head of your group telling him
you are submitting the report and giving any essential results if
applicable)
2. Title page
3. Table of Contents
4. Summary (a concise presentation of the results)
5. Body of report
a. Introduction (a brief discussion to explain what the report is
about and reason for the report; no results should be included
here)
b. Discussion (outline of method of attack on the problem; do
not include any detailed calculations; this should bring out
technical matters not important enough to be included in the
Summary; indicate assumptions and reasons; include any
literature survey results of importance; indicate possible
sources of error, etc.)
c. Final recommended conditions (or design if applicable) with
appropriate data (a drawing is not necessary in this case
although one could be included if desired)
6. Appendix
a. Sample calculations (clearly presented and explained)
b. Table of nomenclature (if necessary)
c. Bibliography (if necessary)
d. Data employed
B. The outline as presented above can be changed if desired (for
example, a section on conclusions and recommendations might be
included)
C. The report can be made more effective by appropriate subheadings
under the major divisions
The Problem
A new reactor has recently been purchased as a part of a contact
sulfuric acid unit. This reactor is used for oxidizing SO2 to SO3 employing a
vanadium oxide catalyst.

Using the following information and data, determine the temperature

at which the reactor should be operated to give the maximum conversion of
SO2 to SO3 and indicate the value (as percent) of this maximum conversion.
Ten thousand pounds of SO2 enters the reactor per day.

Air is used for the SO2 oxidation, and it has been decided to use 300
percent excess air. Preheaters will permit the air and SO 2 to be heated to any
desired temperature, and cooling coils in the reactor will maintain a constant
temperature in the reactor. The reactor temperature and the entering air-
and-SO2 temperature will be the same. The operating pressure may be
assumed to be 1 atm.

The inside dimensions of the reactor are 5 by 5 by 8 ft. One-half of the

inside reactor volume is occupied by the catalyst.

Your laboratory has tested a special type of vanadium oxide catalyst,

and, on their recommendation, you have decided to use it in the reactor. This
catalyst has a void fraction of 60 percent (i.e., free space in catalyst/total
volume of catalyst = 0.6).

The reaction 2S02 + 02 2S03 proceeds at a negligible rate except in

the presence of a catalyst.

Your laboratory has run careful tests on the catalyst. The results
indicate that the reaction is not third-order but is a complex function of the
concentrations. Your laboratory reports that the reaction rate is proportional
to the SO2 concentration, inversely proportional to the square root of the SO2
concentration, and independent of the oxygen concentration.
This may be expressed as:
dx ax
=k 1
dt
x2

Where a = SO, originally present as pound mol/ft3

x = number of lb moles of SO, converted in t set of catalyst contact
time per cubic foot of initial gas
 k = specific reaction-rate constant, (lb mol/ft3)1/2/s; this may be
assumed to be constant at each temperature up to equilibrium
conditions

The laboratory has obtained the data given in Table 1 for the reaction-
rate constant. These data are applicable to your catalyst and your type of
reactor.

The data of standard-state free-energy values at different

temperatures given in Table 2 were obtained from the literature. These data
apply to the reaction

1
S O 2+ O 2 S O 3
2

The fugacities of the gases involved may be assumed to be equal to

the partial pressures.
Problem 2. Heat-Exchanger Design

To: Assistant Process Engineer

From:Dr. A. B . Green, Chief Design Engineer
Mountain View Chemical Company
Boulder, Colorado

We are in the process of designing a catalytic cracker for our petroleum

division. As part of this work, will you please submit a design for a single-
pass heat exchanger based on the information given below?

It is estimated that 200,000 gph of oil A must be heated from 100 to

230F. The heating agent will be saturated steam at 50 psig.

The engineering department has indicated that the exchanger will cost
$60.00 per square foot of inside heating area. This cost includes all
installation.

You can neglect any resistance due to the tube walls or steam film; so
all the heat-flow resistance will be in the oil film.

The cost of power is 7 cents per kilowatt-hour, and the efficiency of the
pump and motor installation is estimated to be 60 percent.

Do not consider the cost of steam or exchanger insulation in your

analysis.

The oil will flow inside the tubes in the heat exchanger. Following are
data on oil A which have been obtained from the Critical Tables and Perrys
Chemical Engineers Handbook:

Avg viscosity of oil A between 100 and 230F = 6 centistokes

Avg density of oil A between 100 and 230F = 0.85 g/cm3
Avg sp ht of oil A between 100 and 230F = 0.48
Avg thermal conductivity of oil A between 100 and 230F = 0.08 Btu/(h)(ft 2)
(F/ft)

We recommend that the Reynolds number be kept above 5000 in this

type of exchanger.

The tubes in the exchanger will be constructed from standard steel

tubing. Tube sizes are available in i-in.-diameter steps. Tubing wall is 16
BWG.
We are particularly interested in the diameter of the tubes we should use,
the length of the tubes, and the total cost of the installed unit. In case the
exchanger length is unreasonable for one unit, what would you recommend?

Assume the unit will operate continuously for 300 days each year.
Fixed charges are 16 percent.

Remember that our company demands a 20 percent return on all extra

fixed-capital investments.

You may base your calculations on a total of 100 tubes in the

exchanger.

Please submit this information as a complete formal report. Include a

short section outlining what further calculations would have been necessary
if the specification of 100 tubes in a one-pass exchanger had not been given.

Following are recommended assumptions:

You may assume that the Fanning friction factor can be represented by:
0.04
f= 0.16
( N)

You may assume that the oil-film heat-transfer coefficient is constant

over the entire length of the exchanger.

For simplification, assume that the oil-film heat-transfer coefficient

may be represented by (standard heat-transfer nomenclature):
k
h=0.023 ( N )0.8 ( N Pr )0.4
D
where all variables are at the average value between 100 and 230F.
Problem 3. Design of Sulfur Dioxide Absorber
You are a member of a group of design engineers designing equipment
for the recovery of SO2 from stack gases.

The group leader has asked you to determine the optimum size of the
SO2 absorption tower. Specifically, he has asked you to determine the height
and cross-sectional area of the optimum absorption tower and to present
your recommendations in the form of a formal report.

Your group has held several meetings to discuss the proposed overall
design. Following is a list of conditions, assumptions, and data on which the
group has decided to base the design:

100,000 ft3 of gas per minute at 300F and 1 atm are to be treated.
The entering gas contains 0.3 percent by volume SO 2 and 11.0 percent CO2
with the balance being N2, O2, and H2O.
The average molecular weight of the entering gas = 29.4
The mole percent SO2 in the exit gas is to be 0.01 percent.
The entering and exit pressures of the absorption column may be assumed
to be 1 atm for purposes of calculating the SO2 pressures.

The zinc oxide process will be used for recovering the SO 2. In this
process, a solution of H2O, NaHSO3m and Na2SO3 is circulated through the
absorption tower to absorb the SO2. This mixture is then treated with ZnO,
and the ZnSO3 formed is filtered off, dried, and calcined to yield practically
pure SO2. The ZnO from the calciner is reused, and the sulfite-bisulfite liquor
from the filter is recycled.

The absorption tower will contain nonstaggered wood grids of the

following dimensions:

Clearance = 1.5 in.

Height = 4 in.
Thickness = in.
Free cross-sectional area = 85.8%
Active absorption area per cubic foot of volume = a = 13.7 ft2/ft3

The average density of the gas at the tower entrance can be assumed
to be 0.054 lb/ft3. The sulfite-bisulfite liquid has a density of 70 lb/ft 3 and can
be considered as having a zero equilibrium SO, vapor pressure at both the
inlet and outlet of the tower.
 The sulfite-bisulfite liquid must be supplied at a rate of 675 lb/(h)(ft 2 of
column cross-sectional area).

The optimum design can be assumed to be .that corresponding to a

minimum total power cost for circulating the liquid and forcing the gas
through the tower. You may assume that this optimum corresponds to the
optimum that would be obtained if fixed charges were also considered.

The following simplified equations are applicable for grids of the

dimensions to be used:

0.8
K g =0.00222 ( Go )

hw 7 1.8
=0.23 x 10 ( Go )
L

where Kg = molar absorption coefficient, lb mole of component absorbed/ (h)

(ft2)(atm)log mean
Go = superficial mass velocity of gas in tower, lb/(h)(ft2)
hw = pressure drop through tower, in. of water
L = height of tower, ft

The liquid is put into the absorption tower by means of a nozzle at the
top of the tower. The pressure just before the nozzle is 35 psig. Assume the
pump for the liquid must supply power to lift the liquid to the top of the
tower and compress the liquid to 35 psig. Use a 10 percent safety factor on
the above pumping-power requirements to take care of the friction in the
lines and other minor losses.

The gas blower has an overall efficiency of 55 percent.

The pump has an overall efficiency of 65 percent.