TUTORIAL 3- Topic 3

1. For the isothermal, isobaric gas-phase pyrolysis

C2 H 6
C2 H 4 H 2

pure ethane enters the flow reactor at 6 atm and 1100 K. How would your equation for
the concentration and reaction rate change if the reactant were to be carried out in a
constant volume batch reactor?

2. Naphthalene is a white solid that evaporates easily. It is also called mothballs, moth
flakes, white tar, and tar camphor. When mixed with air, naphthalene vapours easily
burn. The gas phase irreversible reaction is elementary, following:

C10H8 + 1202 10CO2 + 4H20

An equal molar of Ci0H8 and 0 2 are fed to the reactor at a pressure of 15 atm and
250C.
Additional information: gas constant = 8.314 J/mol.K = 0.082 atm.dm3/mol.K

a) Set up a complete stoichiometric table for this reaction if the reaction occurred in a
flow system by taking C10H8 as a basis.
b) If the conversion of C10H8 is 70%, find the final concentration of C02. Determine
the rate of reaction as a function of conversion.
c) Suggest the rate of reaction as a function of conversion if this reaction is carried
out in a constant volume system.

3. The liquid phase reaction of normal tert-butyl alcohol:

(CH3)3COH + HCl (CH3)3CCl + H20

is carried out isothermally in a flow system to form tert-butyl chloride and water. The
concentrations of tert-butyl alcohol and hydrochloric acid are 1.5M before mixing. The
rate of each stream is 10 mol/min. The entering temperature is 350 K. There are two
reactors available. One is 150 dm3 CSTR that can be heated to 400 K or cooled to
273 K. The other one is 600 dm3 PFR operated only at 350 K that cannot be heated
or cooled. The specific rate of reaction is 0.085 dm3 mol/min and the activation
energy is 30 kJ/mol.

a) Construct a stoichiometric table for this reaction by taking (CH3)3COH as a

basis.

4. Consider the gas-phase reaction A2 2A being carried out in a laboratory using an

isothermal 1 L batch reactor charged with a mixture containing 20 mole% A in an
inert. The reactor operates at 325oC and 3.7 atm.

a) At 15% conversion, what is the molar ratio of A to A2 in the reactor?

b) What is the concentration of A at 15% conversion?

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 c) What is the rate of the reaction at 15% conversion if the reaction follows an
elementary rate law with a rate constant of 1 hr-1? Express your answer in SI
units.

5. Taking H2 as basis of calculation, construct a complete stoichiometric gas phase

reaction of

1 3
N2 H 2
NH 3
2 2

is to be carried out isothermally. The molar feed is 50% H2 and 50% N2 at a

pressure of 16.4 atm and 227oC.

a) Construct a complete stoichiometric table

b) What are initial concentration, and ?
c) Determine the concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen when conversion of H2
is 60%.
d) Suppose by chance, the reaction is elementary with kN2 is 40 dm3/mol/s. Express
the rate of reaction solely as a function of conversion for
i) a flow system
ii) a constant volume batch system