Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Spring 2017
Hwk 5 due Monday (4/10) for Monday class, Wednesday (4/12) for Wednesday class
2. A distillation column is to be used for separating n-butane and n-pentane where the feed (F) mole
fractions are 0.15 and 0.85, respectively. The molar flow rate of the feed stream is 100 lb mol/hr
and it is at P = 10 atm. The reflux ratio is 5.
a) It is desired to recover 88 % of the butane in the top product, and the bottom product
should contain 5 mol % of butane. Perform mole balances to determine the molar flow
rates of:
i. The total top (D) and bottom (B) streams
ii. Butane in the top and bottom streams
b) If the feed is superheated by 40 F, and the reflux is subcooled by 50 F, calculate the
condenser and reboiler heat duties. Make the following assumptions:
- All streams have the same thermal properties as n-pentane
- The mean column temperature is 270 F
3. There is a total reflux distillation column that has a total condenser and a reboiler, and it operates
at ambient pressure. The binary mixture being distilled is isopropanol (1) and 1-propanol (2).
For part (a) (d), assume xD = 0.8 and xB = 0.2.
a) Generate an equilibrium curve with PRO II and employ the McCabe-Thiele graphical
method to estimate the number of ideal stages.
b) Use the Fenske equation to calculate the number of ideal stages. Assume that the average
column temperature is 90 C.
c) If the actual number of trays is 8, what is the overall efficiency of the distillation column?
d) Assuming that the Murphree efficiency is 0.6, use the McCabe-Thiele graphical method
to estimate the number of stages.