Chapter 11 Summary

All batch and semibatch processes are transit, as are continuous process being started up, shut
down, or in transition from one operation state to another. The accumulation terms in balance
equations for transit system are not zero (as they are for steady systems) but rather are derivatives
of system variables with respect to time, and balance equations are consequently differential rather
than algebraic.

The procedure for writing and solving transit balances is as follows:

Write an expression for the amount of the balanced quantity in the system ( mass, moles of a
particular species, energy) and set the accumulation term in the balance equation equal to the
derivatives of that amount with respect to time.

Substitute for the input, output, generation, and consumption terms in the balance equation, and
convert the resulting equation into one with the form:

dy
 f ( y, t ) y ( 0)  y 0
dt

Where y(t) is the dependent system variable to be determined (total mass or volume of the system
contents, concentration or mole fraction of a species, temperature, etc.) and y0 is the specified
initial value of y.

Sketch the anticipated plot of y versus t, using the initial condition to locate the starting point and
using what you know about the slope (which equals dy/dt) to predict the shape of the curve

If the balance equation can be solved analytically (e.g., by separation of variable and integration),
do so; otherwise, solve it using software like Maple, MatLab, Mathematica etc.

If the system involves more than one dependent variable (such as semibatch unit in which both the
volume and composition of the system vary or a reactor in which several reaction occur
simultaneously), write the balance equation for all the dependent variables and convert them to the
form:
dy1
 f1 ( y1 , y2 ,  , yn , t ) y1 (t0 )  y1i
dt
dy2
 f 2 ( y1 , y2 , , yn , t ) y2 (t0 )  y2i
dt
 
dyn
 f n ( y1 , y2 ,  , yn , t ) yn (t0 )  yni
dt

Differential equation can be solved analytically or in most cases, numerically with the soft wares
mentioned earlier.