CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

Week 9

1. (F&R, 7.28) Saturated steam at a gauge pressure of 2.0 bar is to be used to heat a stream of ethane.
The ethane enters a heat exchanger at 16°C and 1.5 bar gauge at a rate of 795 m3/min and is heated
at constant pressure to 93°C. The steam condenses and leaves the exchanger as a saturated liquid at
27°C. The specific enthalpy of ethane at the given pressure is 941 kJ/kg at 16°C and 1073 kJ/kg at
93°C.
(a) How much energy (kW) must be transferred to the ethane to heat it from 16°C to 90°C?
(b) Assuming that all the energy transferred from the steam goes to heat the ethane, at what
rate in m3/s must steam be supplied to the exchanger? If the assumption is incorrect, would
the calculated value be too high or too low?
(c) Should the heat exchanger be set up for co-current or counter-current flow (see the
schematic diagram in F&R pg.347)?

2. (F&R
7.42)
CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

3. (F&R, 7.44) A 200.0 L water tank can withstand pressures up to 20.0 bar before rupturing. At a
particular time the tank contains 165.0 kg of liquid water, the inlet and exit valves are closed, and
the absolute pressure in the vapour head space above the liquid (which may be assumed to contain
only water vapour) is 3.0 bar. A plant technician turn on the tank heater, intending to raise the water
temperature to 155°C, but is called away and forgets to return and shut off the heater. Let t1 be the
time the heater is turned on and t2 the moment before the tank ruptures. Use the steam tables for
the following calculations.
(a) Determine the water temperature, the liquid and the head-space volumes (L), and the mass
of water vapour in the head space (kg) at time t1.
(b) Determine the water temperature, the liquid and head-space volumes (L), and the mass of
vapour (kg) that evaporates between t1 and t2. (Hint: make sue of the fact that the total
mass of water in the tank and the total tank volume both remain constant).
(c) Calculate the amount of heat (kJ) transferred to the tank contents between t1 and t2. Give
reasons why the actual heat input to the tank must have been greater than the calculated
amount.
(d) List three different factors responsible for the increase in pressure resulting from the
transfer of heat to the tank.
CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

4. (F&R 7.55) Water is to be pumped from a lake to a ranger station on the side of a mountain (see
figure below). The flow rate is to be 95 gal/min, and the flow channel is a standard 1-in. Schedule 40
steel pipe (ID = 1.049 in.). A pump capable of delivering 8 hp ( ̇ ) is available. The friction loss ̂
(ft.lbf/lbm) equals 0.041L, where L (ft) is the length of the pipe. Calculate the maximum elevation, z,
of the ranger station above the lake if the pipe rises at an angle of 30°.

L
z

30°
CHE2162 Tutorial Problems Semester Two, 2013

5. (F&R 8.15) A stream of water vapour flowing at a rate of 250 mol/h is brought from 600°C and 10 bar
to 100°C and 1 atm.
(a) Estimate the required cooling rate (kW) in three ways: (i) from the steam tables, (ii) using
hypothetical path (heat capacity data Table B.2), and (iii) using specific enthalpy data in
Table B.8.
(b) Which method will be the most accurate to calculate the correct answer in part (a), and
Why?
(c) What is the physical significance of the difference between the values calculated with
methods (i) and (ii)?
6.