VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY 3 MOD 2 – EHCIY3C

TEST 1 (1 hr 45 min)
Lecturer: Ms L Lerotholi Date: 13th March 2015

Question 1 (20 marks)

Two feed solutions (F1 and F2) of ethanol and water are to be distilled at atmospheric pressure to
produce a distillate of 80 % of ethanol and bottoms product containing 5 % ethanol. The column
operates at a reflux ratio of 2. Feed F1 contains 60 mol % of ethanol and is liquid at its bubble point and
Feed F2 contains 40 mol % ethanol and is 30 % vaporised. Each feed streams enters at 100 kmol/hr

Assume: Constant molar overflow and use of a total condenser

Use the information above to develop the operating line equations of the different sections in the
column (Refer to Figure 1)

D,xD
Section 1

F1,zF1

Section 2

F2,zF2

Section 3

B,xB

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Question 2 (20 marks)

In another operation, constant molar overflow does not hold:

A liquid feed at bubble point is introduced into the column at a flow rate of 3000 kg/hr containing 35 %
(m/m) of the most volatile component (MVC). The resultant distillate contains 78% (m/m) of the MVC
while the waste product has 5 % (m/m) of the MVC.

a) Calculate the number of stages at total reflux (show your work clearly on both Figures). [6]

The H-x-y diagram is provided in Figure 2

The vapor-liquid equilibrium data is given in Figure 1

b) If the reflux ratio is twice the minimum reflux ratio, calculate the flow rate of steam in kg/hr
used in the reboiler. Assume saturated steam at a gauge pressure of 100 kPa is used (assume
the steam only loses its latent heat/ enthalpy of evaporation)
[14]

Refer to the provided saturated steam table (Table 1)

Question 3 (20 marks)

1 tonne (1000 kg) of cat food containing 35 % moisture is dried in a tray dryer such that 65% of the
original moisture is removed in 110 min. If the area of surface drying is 0.5 m2/kg dry mass, how long will
it take to dry the cat food from 0.25 kgH2O/kg dry mass to 0.1 kgH20/kg dry mass moisture? Assume the
surface area of drying is still the same. The critical moisture content of the material is 0.125 kgH2O/kg
dry mass.

[ ( )]

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 STUDENT NAME AND NUMBER:______________________________________________________________________

VLE DATA in mass fractions

1

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5
y

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
x

Figure 1: Vapour-Liquid Equilibrium Data on a mass fraction basis

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STUDENT NAME AND NUMBER:______________________________________________________________________
5000

4500

4000

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000
Enthalpy kJ/kg

500 Hx

0 Hy
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
-500

-1000

-1500

-2000

-2500

-3000

-3500

-4000
mass fraction

Figure 2: Enthalpy – composition Diagram

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Table 1: Saturated steam table

Absolute Temperature Specific Specific Enthalpy of

pressure (oC) Volume Liquid Evaporation Steam
2
(kPa, kN/m ) (m3/kg) - hl - - he - - hs -
(kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg)
95 98.2 1.78 411.5 2262 2673
100 99.6 1.69 417.5 2258 2675
101.331) 100 1.67 419.1 2257 2676
110 102.3 1.55 428.8 2251 2680
130 107.1 1.33 449.2 2238 2687
150 111.4 1.16 467.1 2226 2698
170 115.2 1.03 483.2 2216 2699
190 118.6 0.929 497.8 2206 2704
220 123.3 0.810 517.6 2193 2711
260 128.7 0.693 540.9 2177 2718
280 131.2 0.646 551.4 2170 2722
320 135.8 0.570 570.9 2157 2728
360 139.9 0.510 588.5 2144 2733
400 143.1 0.462 604.7 2133 2738
440 147.1 0.423 619.6 2122 2742
480 150.3 0.389 633.5 2112 2746
500 151.8 0.375 640.1 2107 2748
550 155.5 0.342 655.8 2096 2752
600 158.8 0.315 670.4 2085 2756
650 162.0 0.292 684.1 2075 2759

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