CHE425: Problem set #5

1. (Seader 4.23) An equimolar mixture of ethane, propane, n-butane, and n-pentane is

subjected to flash vaporization at 610oR and 205 psia. What are the expected amounts and
compositions of the products? Determine the temperature and pressure of a single-stage flash
to recover 70% of the ethane in the vapor without losing more than 5% of the nC4 to the
vapor.

EquilibriumKvaluesforlighthydrocarbonsystems
=============================================================
lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P+E/P2,wherePisinpsia,TisinoR
Compound A B C D E
=============================================================
Ethane 687248.2 7.90694 .866 0 49.02654
Propane 970688.6 7.15059 .76984 6.90224 0
nButane 1280557 7.94986 .96455 0 0
nPentane 1524891 7.33129 .89143 0 0
=============================================================
Solution

P(psia) = 205
Drum temperature T(R) = 610
Flash temperature, T(R) = 610.00, V/F = 0.4537
Species: Ethane Propane n-Butane n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500

x= 0.1007 0.1956 0.3169 0.3868

y= 0.4298 0.3155 0.1695 0.0853

Ki = 4.2692 1.6124 0.5348 0.2205

Percentage recover of ethane in vapor = 78.0008

Percentage lost of n-butane in vapor = 30.7537

>> y11s5p1
P(psia) = 14.6
Drum temperature T(R) = 420
Flash temperature, T(R) = 420.00, V/F = 0.2570
Species: Ethane Propane n-Butane n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500 0.2500

x= 0.1002 0.2463 0.3198 0.3336

y= 0.6831 0.2607 0.0480 0.0082

Ki = 6.8156 1.0583 0.1502 0.0246

Percentage recover of ethane in vapor = 70.2132

Percentage lost of n-butane in vapor = 4.93896

2) Run program CASCADES. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your
flash drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt
C:\> appears, type CASCADES and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report
the score and performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER
to exit the DOSBox program.

3) Run program MCCABE. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your
flash drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt
C:\> appears, type MCCABE and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report
the score and performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER
to exit the DOSBox program.

4) Run program VLE. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your flash
drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt C:\>
appears, type VLE and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report the performance
number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER to exit the DOSBox
program.

5) Run program BASIS. You need to copy the folder CHE425 into the H: drive or your flash
drive. Open the folder CHE425 and double click on DOSBox.exe. When the prompt C:\>
appears, type BASIS and press ENTER to run the program. Copy and report the
performance number from the program. Type e or exit and press ENTER to exit the
DOSBox program.

6) A 1000 lb-mole per hour mixture of 5% methane, 20% ethane, 25% propane, 30% n-
butane, and 20% n-pentane at 47 psia and 90F is to be separated by a flash drum. Write a
Matlab program using the data in Table 2 to determine the fraction of the feed vaporized and
the compositions of the vapor and liquid streams leaving the flash drum. Compare the results
with those from Provision.

Table2EquilibriumKvaluesforlighthydrocarbonsystems
=============================================================
(1)lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P2
(2)lnK=A/T2+BCln(P)+D/P
Compound A B C D Form
=============================================================
Methane 292860 8.2445 .8951 59.8465 (1)
Ethane 687248.2 7.90694 .866 49.02654 (1)
Propane 970688.6 7.15059 .76984 6.90224 (2)
nButane 1280557 7.94986 .96455 0 (1)
 nPentane 1524891 7.33129 .89143 0 (1)
========================================================
Ans: V/F = 0.97709
Species Feed mole fraction x y
Methane 0.05 .00108 .05115
Ethane 0.20 .02001 .20422
Propane 0.25 .08247 .25393
n-Butane 0.3 .29914 .30002
n-Pentane 0.2 .59730 .19068
Solution
Flash temperature, T(R) = 550.00, V/F = 0.9771
Species: Methane Ethane Propane n-Butane n-Pentane
Feed z = 0.0500 0.2000 0.2500 0.3000 0.2000

x= 0.0011 0.0200 0.0825 0.2992 0.5973

y= 0.0511 0.2042 0.2539 0.3000 0.1907

Ki = 47.3323 10.2064 3.0789 1.0029 0.3192

7)Theequilibriumdatafortheacetone(1)water(2)systemaregivenat25oCasfollows:

x1 0.0194 0.0289 0.0449 0.0556 0.0939

y1 0.5234 0.6212 0.7168 0.7591 0.8351
P(mmHg) 50.1 61.8 81.3 91.9 126.1

At 25oC the vapor pressures are: P1sat = 230.05 mmHg and P2sat = 23.76 mmHg. Use these
data to calculate the following for the air-water-acetone system.

(a) The vapor mol fraction of acetone in equilibrium with a liquid containing 0.0939 mol
fraction acetone at 25oC and a pressure of 2 atm.
(b) The vapor mol fraction of water in equilibrium with the liquid described in part (a).
Ans: a) 0.0693 b) 0.0137
8. 1A distillation column is fed 100 kmol/h of a mixture of 50 mol % benzene and 50 mol %
toluene at 101.32 kPa abs pressure. The feed is liquid at the boiling point. The distillate is to
contain 90 mol % benzene and the bottoms 10 mol % benzene. The reflux ratio is 4.52:1.
Calculate the kmol/h distillate, kmol/h bottoms, and the number of theoretical trays needed
using the McCabe-Thiele method. Equilibrium data for benzene-toluene system at 101.32
kPa are given below, where x and y are mole fraction of benzene.

x 0 0.130 0.258 0.411 0.581 0.780 1.000

y 0 0.261 0.456 0.632 0.777 0.900 1.000

Solution

From the graph, we have about 6 theoretical stages or 5 theoretical trays plus a reboiler.

11 Geankoplis, C.J., Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles, 4th edition,
Prentice Hall, 2003, p. 753