ChE 100

Chemical Engineering Concepts 1

Final Examination
December ?, 20xx
3 hours

Fall, 20xx
9:00 a.m. 12:00 Noon

Exam Type: Special Materials

Aids Permitted

Aids Not Permitted

Felder and Rousseau

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Student Name: _______________________________

Student ID Number: ___________________
Instructions and Information
1. START EACH QUESTION ON THE QUESTION PAPER.
If you need more space, there is a blank page at the end, or you can use the back of the page. If you
prefer, you can ask for an exam booklet, and continue your solution in it.
If you use an exam booklet, make sure you put your name on the front page.
2. All questions are required and are of equal mark value, though they may not be of equal difficulty.
You should read the Question Paper and start with the easiest problem for you.
3. READ the question carefully to make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Do not
be afraid to ask questions: the worst that can happen is that I wont answer.
4

Part marks are given for partial solutions which demonstrate an understanding of the concepts.
Therefore, show all steps in your solution, and state any assumptions that you make.

5. Data not given in the problem statements can be found in Felder & Rousseau.
6. At the end of the examination, please remain seated until all exams have been collected. If you have
used an exam booklet, put your question paper unfolded inside the exam booklet.
If you detach any pages of the question paper, please make sure that your name is on each sheet so
you get credit for it if the pages get mixed in with those of other students.

Marking Scheme:

Question

Value

20

20

20

20

20

TOTAL

Mark

100
Page 1 of 7

PROBLEM NO. 1
Synthesis gas for ammonia manufacture is fed to a reactor with N2 and H2 in stoichiometric ratio.
The N2 stream to the synthesis process which produces the synthesis gas contains argon in the ratio of 1
mol Ar/78 mol N2. The single-pass conversion of the ammonia reactor is 23%. All the ammonia in the
product stream is separated by condensation and the unreacted gas is recycled. From experiments, you
found that, in order for the process to work properly, it is necessary to have a vent stream from the
recycle line which amounts of 0.02 moles per mole of synthesis gas fed to the system. Determine:
a) the mole percent argon in the fresh synthesis gas feed; b) the recycle/synthesis gas flow ratio; and c)
the overall conversion for the process.
[answers: a) 0.32% b) 3.88 c) 98.3%]
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Page 2 of 7

PROBLEM NO. 2
a)

An ideal gas is transferred from a 66 ft3 tank at 90 oF and P1 psia to a 2.1 m3 tank at 75oF and a
pressure of P2 = 1.05 P1. Is P2 greater than, less than, or equal to atmospheric pressure? Support
your answer by an appropriate calculation.

b)

Propylene (C3H6) is hydrogenated to propane (C3H8) in a high pressure batch reactor. 28.0 kg of
propylene and 1.4 kg H2 are fed into the 0.21 m3 reactor. The conversion of the limiting reactant
is 84%, and the temperature stabilizes at 229oC. Determine the final pressure in atm absolute.
[Answers: forget about part a), b) 158 atm with ideal gas law and 138 atm with compressibility equation
of state]

Page 3 of 7

PROBLEM NO. 3
A fuel containing C4H10 and H2 is burned with dry air to give a stack gas having the following
analysis: 6.14% CO2; 5.85% O2; 12.62% H2O; 2.27% CO; 73.12% N2. Determine the percent excess
air.
[Answer: 32%]
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Page 4 of 7

PROBLEM NO. 4
A mixture of methane and oxygen flows through an above-ground pipeline (which may be leaky)
in which pressure ranges from 9.0 to 7.0 psia. The flow rate of the gas is measured by injecting CO2
into the pipeline at one station of the pipeline, and measuring the gas composition just upstream of the
CO2 injection line and at the next station several hundred metres downstream. CO2 is injected at a rate
of 16 kg/min. The gas composition just upstream is 92% CH4 and 8% O2. At the downstream station, a
partial analysis of the gas is 7.8% N2 and 0.074% CO2. Determine: a) the flow rate of the gas just
upstream of the CO2 injection station in kmol/min; and b) the mole % O2 and mole % CH4 at the
downstream station.
[Answers: a) 442.52 kmol/min b) %O2 = 9.3%, % CH4 = 82.8%]
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Page 5 of 7

PROBLEM NO. 5
Ethylene oxide (C2H4O) is made by the catalytic reaction between ethylene (C2H4) and oxygen.
Fresh ethylene, pure oxygen, and recycled ethylene are mixed to give a reactor feed gas containing 55%
C2H4 which enters the reactor at 1 atm absolute and 300 oC. From test experiments, the single-pass
conversion of ethylene in the reactor is 54% and, of this, 72% goes to ethylene oxide and the balance
decomposes to CO2 and H2O. Most of the unreacted ethylene is separated from the reactor exit stream
and is recycled, a pure ethylene oxide product stream is produced, and the remaining materials leave in a
waste stream which analyses 9.0% ethylene. The production rate of ethylene oxide is 26,430 kg/day.
Determine: a) the molar flow rate of fresh ethylene feed; b) the flow rate of the recycle stream; c) the
fraction of feed oxygen wasted; and d) the percent excess oxygen.
[Answers: a) 952,696 mol/day b) 592,267 mol/day c) 20.8% d) 165%]
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Page 6 of 7

Page 7 of 7