UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FINAL EXAMINATION, April 2008 (CHE412F ~ Advanced Reactor Design Calculator Type: 2 Exam Type: C Examiner - G.W. Norval April 17, 2008; 09:30 ~ 12:00 Duration: 2 hr and 30 minutes Instructions: There are four questions ~ attempt all four Non-programmable calculator only One 8.5 x 11 sheet for formula is allowed (both sides) Use available space in your answer book Do not separate pages irom the answer book baepe 30) 20 40 ; Page | of 5Q 1. G0 marks) Popcom is one of the species of the “Zea Mays”. All corn species have a cob with corn kernels, the difference lies in the sugar, starch and moisture content, as well as the thickness of the shell (or endosperm). A com such as a “peaches and cream” has an endosperm that is soft, and allows water to diffuse through it, Popcorn has an endosperm that is quite resistant to moisture diffusion. The corn kernel is heated to an internal temperature of roughly 180°C, at which point the vapour pressure of water is roughly 900 kPa. At this pressure, the shell “pops”, giving one of ‘our favourite fast foods. Let’s take the fizn away from it by applying some engineering to the entire process. For these calculations, we will use a hot air popper a) Calculate the minimum fluidization velocity for the popper (10 marks) b) Calculate the wattage of the heater, given that the air temperature is 230°C (5 marks) There is a 2 mark bonus if you explain whether this result is reasonable! ©) Perform an energy balance to compare the heat required to warm the corn from room temperature to the popping temperature, vs the heat of vapourization of the water when it pops(S marks). 4) The unsteady energy balance in spherical coordinates can be set up and solved to give the following equation 7 8*(T,-T Pj, [0.60897 ~7.) @ (,-1,) where a= k/pCp, Tis the surface temperature, T, is the starting temperature, Ty is end temperature and tis time Estimate the time required for the particle to heat up to the popping temperature, just due to thermal warming. Next, estimate the time for the particle to pop, by combining the data from parts c) and d). (5 marks) ©) The typical popping time is between 60 and 250 seconds (according to the label on the jar). Is the answer in part d) reasonable, and if not — which factor did we not account for in our work, and what would you do to improve the estimate (5 marks) Useful data: Corn diameter 5 mm, moisture content 14%; air density = 0.76 g/L; Density 1.27 gimL; thermal conductivity 0,16 W/m°C; specific heat 1.9 /g°C; Water heat of vapourization 2257 J/g; popper diameter 7.5 cm, heat capacity air 29.1 J/mol°C Page 2 of $Q2) (20 marks) Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, value-added materials. The majority of tissue processed comes from slaughterhouses but also includes restaurant grease and butcher shop trimmings, expired meat from grocery stores, etc. The most common animal sources are beef, pork, sheep, and poultry. The rendering process simultaneously dries the ‘material and separates the fat from the bone and protein. A rendering process yields a fat commodity (yellow grease, choice white grease, bleachable fancy tallow, etc.) and a protein meal (meat & bone meal, poultry byproduct meal, etc.) Unfortunately, rendering plants also generate a variety of noxious odours. These include ammonia and amines (RNHz), as well as H2S, and thiols (RSH). These compounds have exceedingly low odour thresholds. The odours can be removed using wet scrubbers. The problem is that aqueous solutions of ammonia, amines and thiols also are odourous. a) Henry’s Law is P =k * Cag; what does the above information tell you about the Henry's Law constant for these species? How would you use this information in the design of the wet scrubber? (5 marks) b) The Odorgard™ process is catalytic wet scrubbing. An alkaline solution (pH = 9.5) is circulated, and sodium hypochlorite is injected as oxidant. In a traditional scrubber, the circulating solution is sent to the top of the scrubber, drains through the packing, and collects in a pump tank before being returned to the top of the column. With Odorgard™, the solution is, pumped through a bed of catalyst, wherein reactions occur to consume the Henry’s Law species. Draw a P&ID of the process, indicating what you would measure, and where you would add fresh feeds (alkali, water and hypochlorite) and remove the purge solution. (10 marks) ©) _ Inorder for this process to effectively eliminate odours, what must be true (think about chemistry fundamentals)? In other words, the problem is that there is a fixed volumetric flowrate of gas of variable composition, What dictates the maximum achievable performance of the process, and what factors would you be looking to vary so as to maximize both gas absorption and chemical reaction? (5 marks). Page 3 of 5Q3) (40 marks) The closest most people get to a catalytic chemical reactor is the catalytic converter of the automobile. The converter has multiple goals: it must convert unreacted hydrocarbons to COz and HO, it must convert CO to COz: it also has objectives for ozone and NOx reduction in an effort to reduce ground level smog, An automobile has average fuel consumption of 6.5 L/100 km. The density of gasoline is 0.8 g/mL; the fuel is 100% toluene (C;Hg), it is 99% converted in the engine, and the selectivity to CO; is 97%. The engine is supplied with 2% excess air (based on stoichiometric combustion), Data: Molecular Weights: CHs: 92.13; CO: 28.01, COz: 44.01; HzO: 18.01; Oz: 32,00; No: 28.00. Air is 79% Nz and 21% Oz; R= 8.314 Jmol K; exhaust temperature = 500°C, CO * 1/202 -+ COz +r (mol/m’s) = Ay/G * exp(-EV/RT)yco Yor HC oxidation + (mol/m’s) = Au/G * exp(-E/RT)yxic Yor Aj = 2.0 €20; Ey = 90,000 J; Ax = 1.8 €20; E, = 120,000 J G=T* (1+ 65.5 yco + 2080 yc)” a) Select an average speed for the car. Determine the molar consumption of fuel. Next, determine the required O2 and Nz feeds to the engine, finally, calculate the species mole balance exiting the engine, and the composition. The species are HC, CO, COs, Oz, No, H20. (15 marks) b) Determine the volume of catalyst required for the CO and HC oxidations. (5 marks) ©) The catalyst volume is the volume of washcoat that is applied to the ceramic honeycomb structure that is the support material for the catalyst. The washcoat layer is 0.1 mm (this means that the expected volume is quite small). The honeycomb structure consists of square cells (2.5 mm on each side). Develop a converter design that consists of the number of cells, and the length of each cell. (10 marks) 4) Put the calculations aside and look at the overall picture, The converter must ensure that the reactions will occur at low speeds, high speeds, during change of speed, as well as during the cold start up. There are several key factors in modeling of real reactors; list these, and suggest how they have been taken into account in the design of the automotive catalytic converter. (10 marks) Page 4 of 5Q4) (10 marks) ‘One of the systems for the manufacture of chlorine and caustic soda is through use ofa mercury cell. Salt is electrolysed with liquid mercury, generating a sodium-mercury amalgam as co- product. The hydrogen leaving the cell is saturated with mercury vapour. ‘The concentration of, ‘mercury vapour is reduced to roughly 20 microg/L through cooling to 15C. ‘This concentration is too large for the hydrogen to be useful, either as a fuel or as a chemical feed. It also represents a significant loss of mercury, which as a priority pollutant must be maintained on plant site ‘The Purasiv-Hg process was developed for removing mercury from such hydrogen streams, The gas passes through a fixed bed of activated carbon, ‘The mercury adsorbs onto the carbon, and exit concentrations of less than 1 microgiL are routinely achieved. After a finite amount of time, the carbon becomes saturated with mercury, and the bed is regenerated by steam injection. The steam heats the bed, and displaces the mercury vapour to a condenser. The bed is then cooled, and returned to service. Adsorption data is presented below input 22.3 microgil. H2 flowrate 26.8 Uhr Carbon mass 1009 1009 Run #1 Hg Run #2 Ho sample # Time (hi) microg/L — microg/l. 1 60 ND ND 2 61 ND ND 3 62 ND ND 4 63 0.28 0.25 5 64 0.37 0.37 6 65 0.75 0.72 7 69 1.68 1.65 8 n 2.43 2.43 9 74 5.22 5.24 10 75 9.33 9.35 " 76 13.1 13.4 12 7 168 169 13 78 22.3 22.3 4 79 22.3 22.3 15 80 223 223 A 5 marks) Ifa chlorine plant were generating 14.1 ton/d of Hz, how much carbon should be used for the treatment (select a reasonable operational time)? B~ 5 marks) Would you prefer a long narrow bed for this application or a short fat bed, and why? Page 5 of S