A.

Design a process to produce a nitric-acid water solution (HNO3/H2O) from ammonia (NH3)
and air (N2 and O2), using the following reaction
NH2+2O2 HNO3+H2O
Assume that using air is preferable to using O2 obtained by cryogenically separating N2
and O2. Cryogenic separation is expensive N2 in the reactor yields no by-products although
it does increase the size of the reactor.
The reaction conversion is less than 100%: the effluent will contain 1 or more reactants
as follows.
 If a stoichiometric mixture (1 mole NH3 + 2 mols O2) enters the reactor, the effluent
will contain both NH3 and O2 (and N2, HNO3, and H2O).
 If the reactant mixture has excess NH3, the effluent will contain no O2.
 If the reactant mixture has excess O2, the effluent will contain no NH3.
Design guidelines:
 Assume no other chemistry than the reaction given.
 Minimize the no. of process units then minimize the sizes of the process units.
 List the substances in every stream. You need not specify flowrates of compositions,
but indicate if a reactant is in excess.
 Label all units. If a unit is a separator, specify the basis for the separation (e.g.
liquid/solid separation) and the typical temperature is in the separator.
 You may neglect heat exchangers.

B. Design a process to produce a HNO3/H2O solution from methane, water, and air. That is
design a process to produce ammonia and then use the ammonia to produce nitric acid. Do
not simply copy the ammonia process developed in Chapter 2. The ammonia process can
be improved when integrated with the nitric acid synthesis. Specifically, you can avoid the
costly cryogenic separation of N2 and O2. Hint: Use excess NH3 in the feed to the nitric
acid reactor. (Note: Excess NH3 is not necessary for part (A)).
Recall that ammonia is synthesized by the reaction:
N2+3H2 2NH3
The conversion to ammonia is less than 100%. The effluent will contain N2 and H2.
Generate H2 by the method used for the fuel cell. You may assume methane can be
“burned” in water in one step:
CH4+2H2O CO2+4H2
Furthermore, you may assume that excess H2O will consume all the CH4.
 Below is the table for melting points, boiling points, and a summary of substances
required, tolerated, and forbidden in the three reactors.
Reactor
Melting Boiling
Substance Methane Ammonia Nitric acid
Point (⁰C) Point (⁰C)
burner synthesis synthesis
H2 -259 -253 Product Reactant Ok
N2 -210 -196 Ok Reactant Ok
O2 -218 -183 Ok Forbidden Reactant
CH4 -182 -164 Reactant Ok Forbidden
1 2
CO2 -56 -79 By-product Forbidden Ok
NH3 -78 -33 Forbidden Product Reactant
HNO3 -42 83 Forbidden Forbidden Product
H2O 0 100 Reactant Forbidden By-product
1 2
Notes: At 5.2 atm Sublimation point; gas-solid transition
Although O2 is allowed in the methane burner; it will consume some of the product
H2, by the following reaction:
2H2+O2 2H2O,
and some of the reactant CH4 by the reaction
CH4+2O2 CO2+2H2O.
Similarly, H2 in the nitric acid synthesis reactor will be consumed by reaction with
O2. Thus it is wasteful to admit O2 to the methane burner or H2 to the nitric acid synthesis
reactor. If you choose to do so, be sure the waste can be justified, for example, because
doing so eliminate process unit.
You need only specify the steady-state conditions in your process. You need not
worry about how to start your process, which may require intermediates that are not present
until the process is running. For example, for the steady-state process “chicken yields egg
yields chicken yield” and so on, it will not be necessary to specify which came first. That
is, how the process starts are not important here.