ECH 3418

Separation Processes

Spring 2014

Test #2

2 April 2014

NAME:_________________________________
Please print and sign your name above. Your signature is your assurance that you have neither given nor received
any assistance with this exam.

Problem Points Score

1 35
2 35
3 30
TOTAL 100

Be sure to read all instructions and problem statements carefully. Perform all work on separate
sheets of paper. No work on the test sheets will be graded. You must return this cover sheet
along with the problem sheet and your work pages to receive any credit for this exam. Submit
only one solution to each problem.

You may use a copy of the course text. You may not have copies of other books or materials
from any other source.

You may use a calculator but computers are not allowed. Please erase any programming that
you may have in your calculator before the exam begins. Prepared programs are not allowed.
#1 Butyric acid is used in the food and perfume industry. It can be produced by fermentation
using the bacteria Clostridium butyricum, however the fermentation broths typically contain the
butyric acid at low concentration, about 2.5 wt % in aqueous solution. It has been suggested that
decanol is an effective solvent for the extraction of butyric acid from water. Kirbastar (Brazilian
Journal of Chemical Engineering, 23, #3, 2006) has measured the distribution coefficient for this
system at several temperatures near 30C and found that it is rather insensitive to both
temperature and composition with an average value of

𝐾𝐷𝐵 ′ = 5.6 (𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠)

a. If we wished to treat 2000 kg/h of a solution that is 2.5 wt % butyric acid in water using
decanol as the extractant, what flow rate of decanol would be required to extract 90% of
the butyric acid in a single stage?
b. What fraction of the butyric acid could be extracted in a three stage countercurrent
cascade with a decanol flow of 1000 kg/h?
You may assume that decanol and water are completely immiscible.

#2 You have been given the job of analyzing a proposed change to an absorber used to remove
C4 and C5 from a heavy natural gas. The present column design has a feed as shown below and
the absorbing oil flow is 90.5 lbmoles/hr. The oil has the characteristics of n-octane and contains
2 % C4 and 5 % C5. The column has 20 trays and the overall efficiency is 20 %. If we increase
the oil inlet flow to 110 lbmoles/hr calculate the fraction of the combined C4 and C5 removed
from the gas. K values are also in the table below.

Species C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 Oil
Inlet Vapor Flow 28.5 15.8 24.0 16.9 14.8 0
(lbmoles/hr)
K value 37.8 7.5 2.58 0.78 0.25 0.013

#3 A liquid stream containing solute A and carrier liquid C enters a packed column. The solute
is to be stripped using pure gas B. The flow rate of C entering the column is 150 kmole/hr and
this stream contains 7 mole % A. The stripping gas B enters at a rate of 500 kmole/hr. The
design calls for 1 mole % A in the exiting liquid. For the phase equilibrium relationship use yA =
0.4xA. At the conditions of interest we have

𝐾𝑥 𝑎 = 75𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒/(ℎ𝑟 ∗ 𝑚3 )

Determine the height of packing required for this separation if the column cross sectional area is
1m2.