Process and Process Variables

Chapter 3
 Process
Process: An operation or series of operations that causes physical or chemical
changes in substance or a mixture of substances, thereby converting
raw materials into products.

Chemical Engineering resolved into a coordinated series of unit operations and

unit processes.

Unit operations: restricted to those operations in which changes are primarily

Physical caused by transfer of energy (E.g. Crystallization of
sugar from sugar solution)

Unit Processes: involve chemical changes and imply commercialization of

chemical reactions under economically profitable conditions.
(e.g.: The production of ethanol from a sugar solution involves a
unit operation)
 Unit operations-Classifications

Unit Operations:
Mechanical Electrochemical Thermo-chemical
(do not involve appreciable (do not involve (involve appreciable heat
heat and mass transfer) appreciable heat and and mass transfer)
mass transfer)
Settling & Sedimentation Electro-separation Condensation
Decantation Magnetic separation Evaporation
Filtration Electro-dialysis Crystallization
Centrifugation Electro-osmosis Drying
Crushing and grinding Electrophoresis Distillation
Flotation Extraction
Conveying Gas absorption
Mixing
Unit Processes: Different chemical and biochemical operations with chemical
reactions in different types of reactors.

Mechanical
(do not involve appreciable heat and mass transfer)
Process
Settling & Sedimentation
(separation of solid particles
from fluid by gravitational
force or centrifugal force)
Decantation (separation of
two immiscible liquids of
different densities)
Filtration (separation of
solids from slurry through a
porous media by pressure
difference or centrifugal
force)
Screening (separation of
solids on the basis of size)
Crushing and grinding
(Reduction of size to
separate ingredients)
Flotation (separation of
mixture of grains by the
surface action of air bubbles
in mining industry)
Conveying (transportation of
materials)
Mixing (uniform distribution
of materials)
Unit operations and their process units
Process unit
Gravitational: Dorr thickener,
Gravity settling tanks,
Spitzkasten and Mineral jigs;
Centrifugal: Tubular centrifuge,
Disk bowl centrifuge, basket
centrifuge, Cyclone separators
Gravity decanter
Bed filters, Plate and Frame
filter presses, Leaf filters,
Sweetland filters, Kelly filters,
Rotary vacuum dram filters,
Rotary disk filters, Basket
centrifuge.
Screens, Grizzlies
Dodge crusher, Blake crusher,
Gyratory crusher, Roll crusher,
Ball mills and Tube mills,
Hammer mills, Burrstone mills,
Raymond mills.
Agitair flotation machine,
Denver cell, Steffensen
flotation machine
Belt conveyer, Screw conveyer
Agitator, Double-cone mixer,
Kneading machines, Pug mills,
colloid mills, mixing rolls, pan
mixers, putty chasers
Electrochemical
(do not involve appreciable heat and mass
transfer)
Process
Electrostatic separation
(separation of solids by
electrostatic force)
Magnetic separation
(separation of solids by
magnetic field)
Electro-dialysis (separation
of ions by diffusion from one
phase to another phase with
an imposed emf)
Electro-osmosis (purifying of
liquids through porous
diaphragm under applied
electric field)
Electrophoresis (separation
of colloidal particles under
the influence of electrical
potential)
Ion-exchange (removal of
inorganic and its wastes
from waste water)
Pervaporation (separation
of mixtures of liquids by
partial vaporization through
a non-porous or porous
membrane)
Gas permeation (the
penetration of a permeate
(such as a liquid, gas, or
vapor) through a solid)
Thermo-Chemical
(involve appreciable heat and mass transfer)
Process unit Process Process unit
Cottrell precipitator Condensation, cooling, heating Condenser, Heat
(Condensing vapour streams, exchanger, Cooling
transferring heat from one tower
liquid to another0
Magnetic separator Evaporation (Concentrating of Evaporator
solution)
Porous membrane Crystallization (Formation of Crystallizer
solid crystal by change in
temperature)
Membrane Drying (removal of water Dryer
moisture or moisture from
another solvent by
evaporation)
Membrane Distillation (Separating Distillation column
chemical substances based on
their differences in volatilities)
Ion exchanger Leaching and Extraction Extractor
called deionizer (removal of materials by
dissolving them from solids)
Non-porous and Absorption & Stripping, Absorber, disrober
porous Membrane Adsorption, Chromatography
(separation of a solute
component by contact with a
liquid phase in which the
component is soluble)
Mini-permeameter Humidification & Humidifier,
dehumidification (increase or Dehumidifier
decrease of level of humidity in
air)
 Process Variables
Process variables: variables to characterize the streams entering and leaving a process unit.
Process variables are:
• State/thermodynamic Variables:
• Temperature of the inlet and outlet streams
• Pressure of the inlet and outlet streams
• Dynamic variables
• Flow rates (superficial fluid velocity) of inlet and outlet
• Geometric Variables
• , Volume, diameter, cross-sectional area, length, angle, etc.
• Physical properties as variables
• Density, surface tension, viscosity of the fluid
• Others
• Total amount of material in the inlet and outlet streams, composition of the inlet and outlet streams.
 Types of Process
Based on how the process is designed to operate:

Batch process: – Materials leave and enter process unit only at the beginning and at
the end of the cycle.

Example:
•Ice-cream making;
•Heating a sealed bottle of milk in a water bath;
•Baking cookies, fermentations, small-scale chemicals (pharmaceuticals).

Continuous process: – Continuous flowing streams (both inlet and outlet).

Example:
• Heating water that is continuously flowing through a pipe;
• Pumping liquid at a constant rate into a distillation column and removing the
product streams from the top and bottom of the column;
• purifying air and water, treating waste products, etc
 Mitsubishi Chemical Batch Process

The flowsheet of
manufacturing of
di-octyl phthalate
(DOP), a
plasticiser widely
used in the
automotive
industry.

The process entails the reaction of phthalic anhydride with 2-ethylhexanol:

C6H4(CO)2O + 2 C8H17OH → C6H4(CO2 C8H17)2 + H2O

Continuous process: Biodiesel production
Continuous Distillation Process
 Types of process
Semi-batch process: – Neither continuous nor batch process.
Process with one batch input but output is continuously
drawn. Or continuous input but output as a cycle.

Example:
• filling the beaker up;
• slowly draining while heating,
• slowly blends two liquids in a tank,
• a balloon is being filled with air;
• washing machine,
• fermentation with purge; A fermenter, for example, is loaded with
a batch, which constantly produces carbon dioxide, which has to
be removed continuously.
 Types of process

Based on how the process varies with time and spatial coordinates:

• Steady state process: – Process variables (i.e., T, P, V, flow rates, etc.) do not
change with time.

• Unsteady steady state or transient process: – Process variables (i.e., T, P, V,

flow rates etc.) that change with time.

Example:
• Batch and semi-batch processes are, by nature, transient processes
• whereas continuous processes can be transient or at steady state.
 Lumped Process

Process variables that changes with time but not spatial coordinates (x, y, z). Process
equations are expressed by ordinary differential equations. Most of the process dynamic
equations are made to have simple equations by lumping (compact) all the resistances into
a single resistance.
d(t)/dt = f()
For an example
• Process in batch reactor, continuous stirred tank reactor
• In a batch reactor, let N be the moles of a chemical: the molar change of chemical is the
reaction rate (r = molar change per unit time per unit volume) times the volume and the
time.
i.e., dN = rVdt
This can be put into a differential equation as
dN/dt = rV
if the volume of batch reactor is constant, then c = N/V and then the equation becomes
dc/dt = r = kc
To develop process dynamic equations for heat exchanger, if we assume that the
temperature does not vary along the length of the heat exchanger.
 Distributed processes
Process variables that changes with both time/ and spatial coordinates (x, y, z).
Process equations are expressed by partial differential equations. In this case all the
resistances are distributed throughout the system.
Example:

 Heat conduction in a solid;

Applying heat balance for Δx element, heat input by conduction at x-heat output by
conduction at x + Δx = Rate of heat accumulation in volume element.

-AK T/x at x – (-AK T/x) at x + Δx = /t (cρA ΔxT)

But, T/x at x + Δx = T/x at x + /x (T/x) Δx
Then the staring equation becomes,
K2T/x2 = ρCT/t
i.e. T/t = (K/cρ) 2T/x2

 Flow in a pipe;
 packed columns;
 tubular reactors;
 dialyzers.
Density
Specific gravity
 Specific Gravity

American Petroleum Institute (API) uses the different unit to measure the
specific gravity which is called 0API. The relation betwn. SG and 0API is
 Problem
Problem: 420 liters of 28oAPI gas oil blended with 1200 liters of 15oAPI
fuel oil. What is the density of the mixture in kg/m3? Assume that volumes
are additive. The density of water at 15 oC is 0.999 g/cm3.

Solution:

28oAPI = (141.5*999)/(28+131.5)=886.26 kg/m3

5oAPI = (141.5*999)/(15+131.5)=964.90 kg/m3

Density of mixture = Total mass/Total volume

= (886.26*420/1000+964.90*1200/1000)/(420/1000+1200/1000) = 944.51 kg/m3

Flowrates
Chemical Compositions
Mass and Mole Fraction
Average Molecular Weight
Example
 Concentration
The mass concentration (i) is defined as the mass (mi)of a constituent
divided by the volume (V) of the mixture:

(gm-mole of solute/liter solution)

 Fluid pressure and Hydrostatic Head
Pressure – is the ratio of force to the area on
which the force acts on; has
dimensions of mass/(length·time2)
Units in SI system [=] N/m2 ≡ Pascal (Pa)
Units in CGS system [=] dynes/cm2
Units in British system [=] lbf/in2 (psi) or lbf/ft2
(psf)
 Head
Head
Pressure is frequently expressed as “head” of a particular fluid:
the height of a hypothetical column of this fluid would exert given pressure at its base
if the pressure at the top were zero
From hydrostatic pressure equation: How to derive this
equation?

Head has dimensions of length. The advantage of expressing pressure as head is

that this quantity is now independent of materials properties
Absolute and Gauge pressure
Manometers
 Bourdon Gauge
 A hollow tube closed
at one end and bent into
a C configuration.
 The open end
exposed to the fluid
whose pressure is to be
measured.
 As the pressure
increases the tube tends
to straighten, causing a
pointer attached to the
tube to rotate.

Open end
Equation development for fluid statics
Pressure within a static fluid:
Consider a fluid element of volume of dimensions dxdydz
as shown in Figure in Class (See class note)

Total Force acting on the element (dF) = Body force + net surface force

Body Force = (ρdxdydz)g

Net force acting on six faces:
[P+ (P/x).dx/2]dydz-[ P- (P/x).dx/2]dydz
+[P+ (P/y).dy/2]dxdz-[ P- (P/y).dy/2]dxdz
+[P+ (P/z).dz/2]dxdy-[ P- (P/z).dz/2]dxdy

= -(P/x+ P/y+ P/z)dxdydz

Then dF = -(P/x+ P/y+ P/z)dxdydz+ (ρdxdydz)g
As per Newtonian Law,
dF = mass  acceleration = dm.a = ρ(dV)a
For static fluid, Acceleration (a) = 0
Equation development for fluid statics

So, dF = 0
Therefore, -(P/x+ P/y+ P/z)dxdydz+ (ρdxdydz)g = 0
Implies, -(P/x+ P/y+ P/z) + ρg
g is the gravitational acceleration which is equal to 0 in x and y direction.
In z direction it is g = 9.81 m/ s2
So in z direction,
z
-dP/dz = - ρg P 0
1
P1 – P2 = - (ρg) (Z1 – Z2) Datum line
h
P0 – P2 = - (ρg)(0 – (-h))
2
Therefore, P2 = P0 + ρgh

P0 is the atmospheric Pressure

Example: Pressure drop measurement
All dimensions in cm
Water flows through pipes A and
B. Lubricating oil is in the upper
4 portion of the inverted U tube
2
manometer. Mercury is in the
1 Z-direction
bottom of the manometer bends.
3 Density of oil is 880 kg/m3.
Determine the pressure
difference, PA- PB

PA-P1 = -ρw g(ZA-Z1) = -1000*9.81*(+0.10)

P1-P2 = -ρm g(Z1-Z2) = - 13600*9.81*(-0.03)
P2-P3 = -ρo g(Z2-Z3) = - 880*9.81*(+0.04)
P3-P4 = -ρm g(Z3-Z4) = - 13600*9.81*(-0.05)
P4-PB = -ρw g(Z4-ZB) = - 1000*9.81*(-0.08)

Summing up:
PA-PB = 10131.768 N/m2
 Temperature
The temperature of a substance in a particular state of aggregation (solid, liquid or gas) is
a measure of the average kinetic energy possessed by substance molecules
Temperature

Problem

Solution