CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

Week 6

1. (F&R, 6.17) Wet air containing 20.0 mol% water vapour initially at 1 atm absolute pressure is cooled
in a 1-litre sealed vessel from 200°C to 15°C.
a) What is the pressure in the vessel at the end of the process?
b) What is the mole fraction of water in the gas phase at the end of the process?
c) How much water (grams) condenses?

2. [Test 1 2012] Estimate the degrees of freedom using Gibbs Phase Rule for the following systems
(show your working) –
(a) Humid air in equilibrium with a partially frozen lake on a cool spring day in Quebec,
Canada.
(b) A gaseous mixture of CO, H2O, H2 and CO2, given that a single water gas shift reaction
CO + H2O ↔ CO2 + H2 has proceeded to equilibrium.
[2 marks]
(c) A vapour liquid mixture of acetone and methyl ethyl ketone at equilibrium.
(d) A liquid-liquid mixture of acetone-water-chloroform at equilibrium.

3. [Test 1 2012] Liquid benzene is kept in a sealed tank at 60.6°C. The gas above the liquid contains
benzene vapour (mole fraction = ) and nitrogen at equilibrium at a total pressure P=1000.0
mm Hg. The vapour pressure of benzene at 60.6°C is 400.0 mm Hg.
(a) Is the dew point of the gas in the flask <60.6°C, =60.6°C, or >60.6°C, or is it impossible to
say without more information? (Consider benzene to be the only condensable
substance.)
(b) What is the partial pressure of nitrogen ( ) and the mole fraction of benzene ( ) in
the gas? (Show your calculations)
(c) If the flask temperature was slightly increased and the system again came to
equilibrium, would each of the following variables increase, stay constant, or decrease?
State the reason in a single sentence (Neglect changes in volume of the gas and liquid
phases.)
i. Total pressure
ii. Mole fraction of nitrogen in the gas phase
iii. Relative saturation of benzene in the gas
iv. Dew point of the gas.

4. [Test 1 2012] Acetone (C3H6O) is produced by dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol (C3H8O) at 1 atm
and 350°C, but at this temperature isopropyl alcohol goes through an undesired dehydration
reaction to produce propylene (C3H6) and water –
… (1)
… (2)
120.0 kmol/h of isopropyl alcohol is fed to the reactor. The fractional conversion of isopropyl alcohol
is 0.97 and the fractional yield of acetone is 0.95. The product gases are fed to a condenser
operating at 1 atm where only acetone is condensed.
Given Raoult’s Law for single condensable species (@equilibrium):
(a) Draw a process flow diagram and label all the streams with process variables.
(b) Calculate the mole fraction all the components in the product gas leaving the reactor using
extent of reaction calculation.
(c) Estimate the maximum temperature at which the condenser can operate such that acetone
is condensed.
CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

(d) If the condenser is operating at 15°C (and 1 atm) calculate the rate (kmol/h) at which liquid
acetone is collected from the condenser and the mole fraction of acetone in the vapour
phase leaving the condenser.