1

Bin Liu
E5-02-17
Cheliub@nus.edu.sg
Chapter 3
Process Variables
2
Understandthedefinitionsofvariousvariablesinachemical
process,suchaspressure,massflowrate,specificdensity.
Beabletodefinedifferentstreamsinaprocess.
Beabletodescribethemeaningofstandardabbreviationsand
symbolsusedonprocessflowsheets.
Beabletowriteadescriptionofaprocessflowsheet.
Beabletodrawaprocessflowsheetfromawrittendescription
usingablockflowdiagram.
LearningObjectives
3
Process
ProcessVariables:
Temperature,flow
rate,pressure,
reactorvolume,
heatinput
Feed
Product1
Product2
4
Density: themassperunitvolume
Specificvolume:thevolumeoccupiedbyaunit
massofasubstance,theinverseofthedensity.
Densitiesofpuresolidsandliquidsareessentially
insensitivetopressure,andvaryrelativelyslightly
withtemperature.
MassandVolume
5
Densityofapuresubstancecanbeusedasaconversion
factortorelatethemassandvolumeofaquantityofthat
substance.
MassandVolume
Examples:20cm
3
ofcarbontetrachloride
20cm
3
x=31.90g(=30g)
Or6.20lb
m
ofcarbontetrachloride
1.595g
1cm
3
6.20lb
m
x x =1760cm
3
454g
1lb
m
1cm
3
1.595g
6
Specificgravity(SG)ofasubstanceistheratioofthedensity
()ofthesubstancetothedensityofareferencesubstance
ataspecificcondition(
ref
).
Themostcommonreferenceforsolidsandliquidsiswater
at4.0C,whichhasthefollowingdensity:
1.000g/cm
3
=1000kg/m
3
=62.43lb
m
/ft
3
Thedensityofaliquidorsoliding/cm
3
isnumericallyequal
totheSGofthatsubstance.
ThenotationSG=0.6signifiesthatthespecificgravity
ofasubstancea20Cwithreferencetowaterat4Cis0.6.
MassandVolume
20
o
4
o
7
Athermometerusesmercury,thevolumeofwhichchanges
withtemperature.
Coefficientsoflinearandcubicthermalexpansionofsome
liquidsandsolidsaregivenasempiricalpolynomialfunctions
oftemperature:
V(T)=V
0
(1+AT+BT
2
)
WhataretheunitsofV
0
,AandB?
MassandVolume
8
FlowRate
9
Theflowrateofaprocessstreamcanbeexpressedasamass
flowrate(mass/time)orasavolumetricflowrate
(volume/time).
Densitycanbeusedasaconversionfactorbetweenmass
andvolumetricflowrate.
Themassflowrateofnhexane(=0.659g/cm
3
)inapipe
is6.59g/s.Whatisthevolumetricflowrateofnhexane?
FlowRate
10
Supposeagasisflowingthroughaconeshapedpipe.
Howdothemassflowratesofthegasatinletand
outletcompare?
Ifthedensityofthegasisconstant,howdothe
volumetricflowratesatthesetwopointscompare?
Whatifthedensitydecreasesfrominlettooutlet?
FlowRate
11
Aflowmeter isadevicemountedinaprocesslinethatprovidesa
continuousreadingoftheflowrateinthatline.
FlowRateMeasurement
Rotameter:floatingballinaconicalcylinder.Usefrictiontoliftthe
ball.Thefriction(andtheheightoftheball)isproportionaltothe
velocity.
Orificemeter:obstructioninthepipecreatesapressuredrop.The
pressuredropisproportionaltothevelocity.
12
Atomicweight weightofanatomofanelementonascale
bywhich
12
Chasamassofexactly12.
Molecularweight(MW) sumoftheatomicweightsofthe
atomsthatconstituteamoleculeofthecompound.
MWisaconversionfactorbetweenmassandmolesfora
particularcompound.
Grammole theamountofthatspecieswhosemassin
gramsisnumericallyequaltoitsmolecularweight.
ChemicalCompositions
13
Consider8methylNvanillyltrans6nonenamide,alsoknownas
capsaicin,theactivecomponentofchilipeppers,havinga
molecularformulaofC
18
H
27
NO
3
Conversion:Mass/Moles
Calculatethemolecularweightofcapsaisin
18x12.0107 +27x1.00794 +3x15.9994 +1x14.0067
=216.193+27.2144+47.9982+14.0067=305.412
g/gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
CHON
14
Calculatethenumberofmolesofcapsaicinin100gofthesubstance:
Calculatethenumberoflbmoles ofcapsaicinin100gofthesubstance:
Calculatethenumberofmoleseachelementin100gofthe
substance:
Conversion:Mass/Moles
100gC
18
H
27
NO
3
x = 0.327426gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
305.412 g C
18
H
27
NO
3
100gC
18
H
27
NO
3
x x = 7.218x10
4
lbmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
305.412 g C
18
H
27
NO
3
lb mole
453.6gmole
0.327426x18=5.89367gmole C
0.327426x27=8.84051gmole H
15
Conversion:Mass/Moles
CalculatethenumberofgramsofCin100gofthesubstance:
Calculatethenumberofmoleculesofcapsaicinin100gofthe
substance:
100gC
18
H
27
NO
3
x x x
= 70.7871gC
gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
305.412 g C
18
H
27
NO
3
18gmole C
1 gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
12.0107gC
1gmole C
100gC
18
H
27
NO
3
x x
=1.97x10
23
moleculesC
18
H
27
NO
3
gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
305.412g
6.02x10
23
molecules
1 gmole C
18
H
27
NO
3
16
massfraction,x
A
molefraction,y
A
MassandMoleFractions
X
A
=
massofA
totalmass
y
A
=
molesofA
totalmoles
17
Conversion:Mass/Molarcomposition
Agasmixtureofthemasscomposition:
16%O
2
,4.0%CO,17%CO
2
,63%N
2
Themolarcompositionofthegascanbefoundassuminga100g
basisforcalculationas:
i X
i
m
i
=X
i
/m
total
M
i
(g/mol)
n
i
=m
i
/M
i
y
i
=n
i
/n
total
O
2
0.16 16 32 0.500 0.150
CO 0.04 4 28 0.143 0.044
CO
2
0.17 17 44 0.386 0.120
N
2
0.63 63 28 2.250 0.690
Total 1.00 100 3.279 1.000
18
AverageMolecularWeightofMixture
i X
i
y
i
M
i
(g/mol)
x
i
/M
i
y
i
M
i
O
2
0.16 0.150 32 0.0050 4.8
CO 0.04 0.040 28 0.0014 1.12
CO
2
0.17 0.120 44 0.0039 5.28
N
2
0.63 0.690 28 0.0225 19.32
Total 1.00 1.000 0.0328 30.5
19
Concentration
Mass concentration: mass of the component per unit volume
of the mixture.
Molar concentration: the number of moles of the component
per unit volume of mixture.
The molarity of a solution is the value of the molar
concentration of solute expressed in grammoles solute per
liter of solution.
20
Concentrationcanbeusedasaconversionfactorbetween
mass/molesofcomponentinasampleandthevolumeofthat
sample
mass/moleflowrateofacomponentofacontinuousstream
tothetotalvolumetricflowrateofthestream
Concentration

5Lx= 0.1mol NaOH

0.02mol NaOH
L
5Lmol NaOH
0.02mol NaOH
L
min
x
min
=0.1
21
Partspermillion(ppm),billion (ppb),trillion (ppt)areunits
usedtoexpressconcentrationsoftracespecies(presentin
minuteamounts)inmixturesofgasesandliquids.
Unitsmayrefertomassormolarratios.
Concentration
ppm
i
=y
i
x10
6
ppb
i
=y
i
x10
9
ppt
i
=y
i
x10
12
22
Pressure: theratioofaforcetotheareaoverwhichtheforceacts.
SIpressureunit:pascal (Pa),whichhasunitsofN/m
2
.
Pressure
Fluidpressure
Considerafluidcontainedinaclosedvesselorflowing
throughapipe,andsupposeaholeofareaAismadeinthe
wallofthecontainingvessel.
Thefluidpressuremaybedefined
astheratioofF/A,whereFisthe
minimumforcethatwouldhave
tobeexertedonthefrictionless
plugholetocontainthefluid.
23
Consideringafluidcontainedinaverticalcolumn,
thehydrostaticpressureisbased
onthetotalforceactingonthe
bottomofthecontainer,andmay
beconsideredasthesumofthe
atmosphericpressure(P
0
)actingon
thetopofcolumnofliquidandthe
weightofthecolumn.
Heighthofacolumnisproportional
tothepressure,thuspressuresmaybeexpressedas
anequivalentlength,referredtoasaheadofliquid.
Pressure
24
Calculatethepressureatthebottomofa12deepswimmingpool
inwhichthewatertemperatureisauniform82F.Theatmospheric
pressureatthepoolbarometerreading29.75Hg.
water
(82F)=
62.198lb
m
/ft
3
and
Hg
=13.55g/cm
3
Calculatingpressurefromhead
P=P
0
+gh =g(
Hg
h
Hg
+
H2O
h
H2O
)
=(32.174ft/s
2
)()[(13.55g/cm
3
)()x
()(29.75in)()+(62.198lb
m
/ft
3
)(12ft)]()
1lb
f
32.174lb
m
ft/s
2
30.48
3
cm
3
1ft
3
1lb
m
453.6g
1ft
12in
1ft
2
144in
2
1ft
2
144in
2
=(2097+746.4)(lb
f
/ft
2
)()=19.74lb
f
/in
2
25
Absolute=Atmospheric+Gauge
Absolutepressure(psia):thesumoftheatmospheric
contributionaswellasthatduetothefluidactingonaparticular
area.
Gaugepressure(psig)isthatcontributionfromthefluid,and
doesnotincludeatmosphericpressure.
Consequently,apressureof0psigindicatesonlyatmospheric
pressureisactingonthegauge.
P
absolute
=P
atmospheric
+P
gauge
26
Pressuremeasurement
Elasticelementmethods
ABourdontubeisCshapedandhasanovalcrosssection
withoneendofthetubeconnectedtotheprocesspressure.
Theotherendis
sealedandconnectedtothe
pointerortransmitter
mechanism.
Aspressureinthesystem
increase,thetubetendsto
straighten,causinga
deflectionofthepointer.
27
Pressuremeasurement
Liquidcolumnpressuremeasurementmethods
Liquidcolumngaugesconsistofaverticalcolumnofliquidina
tubewhoseendsareexposedtodifferentpressures.
Theliquidcolumnwillriseorfalluntilitsweightisin
equilibriumwiththepressuredifferentialbetweenthetwo
endsofthetube.
AmanometerisaUshaped
tubepartiallyfilledwithafluidof
knowndensity(themanometerfluid).
Pressureat(a)and(b)
isthesame.
P
1
+
1
gd
1
=P
2
+
2
gd
2
+
f
gh
28
Manometervariations
P
1
+
1
gd
1
=P
2
+
2
gd
2
+
f
gh
P1 P2=(
f
)gh
29
ManometerCalculation
Adifferentialmanometerisusedtomeasurethedropinpressure
betweentwopointsinaprocesslinecontainingwater.
Example:Thespecificgravityofthemanometerfluidis
1.05.ThemeasuredlevelsineachareshownintheFigurebelow.
Calculatethepressuredropbetweenpoints1and2indynes/cm
2
.
P
1
P
2
=(
f
)gh
=(1.05g/cm
3
1.00g/cm
3
)x
[(980.7cm/s
2
)x1dyne/(1gcm/s
2
)]
x[(382 374)(1cm/10mm)]
=39.2dynes/cm
2
30
Temperatureofasubstanceinaparticularstate(solid,
liquid,gas)isameasureoftheaveragekineticenergy
possessedbythesubstancemolecules.
Theenergycannotbedirectlymeasured,andtherefore
mustbeinferredthroughindirectmeansofaphysical
propertyofthesubstance
resistancethermometer(electricalresistance)
thermocouple(voltageatjunctionof2dissimilarmetals)
pyrometer(spectraofemittedradiation)
thermometer(densitychangeofafluid)
Temperature
31
Temperaturescanbeexpresseddirectlyintermsofthe
measuredphysicalproperties(i.e.,ohms/cm
3
).
Definedtemperaturescales:
Celsuis orFahrenheitscalesmostcommon thescaleis
arbitrarilyassignedtwovaluesbasedonthefreezing(0Cor
32F)andboiling(100Cor212F)pointsofwaterat1atm
pressure.
Absolutezero(lowesttheoreticaltemperatureattainablein
nature)is273.15Cor459.67F.
KelvinandRankine arescalesequivalenttoCelsiusand
Fahrenheit,respectively,buthaveavalueof0assignedto
absolutezero.
TemperatureScales
32
DerivedfromT(B)=aT(A)+b,wheretemperatures
representarbitrarilyassignedvaluesofthescale.
Note the interval size of
temperature on the
Fahrenheit (or Rankine)
scale is 1.8 times the size
of an interval on the
Celsius (or Kelvin) scale.
ConvertingTemperatureScales
T(K)=T(
o
C)+273.15
T(
o
R)=T(
o
F)+459.67
T(
o
R)=1.8T(K)
T(
o
F)=1.8T(
o
C)+32
33
Measurementoftemperature
34
TemperatureConversion
Temperaturemayappearinderivedunits,suchastheheat
capacity,Cp(BTU/lbmF),whichisafunctionof
temperature.ConsiderCpforammonia:
Useadimensionalanalysisapproachtoconvert:
C
p
()=0.487+2.29x10
4
T(F)
=0.487+2.29x10
4
(1.8T(C)+32)
=0.494+4.12x10
4
T(
o
C)
Btu
lb
m

o
F
C
p
( ) = ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
J
g
o
C
Btu
lb
m

o
F
1.8F
1.0C
1J
9.486x10
4
Btu
1lb
m
454g
J
g
o
C
C
p
()=2.06+1.72x10
3
T(
o
C)
x [0.494+4.12x10
4
T(
o
C)]
35
Conversionfactorsrefertotemperatureintervals,NOTtemperature!
Examples:
Tofindnumberofcelsium degreebetween32Fand212 F,
T(C)=(21232)/1.8=100C
However,tofindoutthetemperaturecorrespondingto32F
Youshoulduse:
T(F)=1.8T(C)+32
You can not use T(C) =
32 F
1.8 F
1 C
A temperature A temperature
interval