Question

1.15. Material balance for a distillation sequence. Five hundred kmol/h of liquid alcohols containing, by moles, 40% methanol (M), 35% ethanol (E), l 5% isopropanol (IP), and 10% normal propanol (NP) are distilled in two distillation columns. The distillate from the first column is 98% pure M with a 96% recovery of M. The distillate from the second is 92% pure E with a 95% recovery of E fromn the process feed. Assume no propanols in the distillate from Column C1, no M in the bottoms from Column C2, and no NP in the distillate from Column C2. (a) Assuming negligible propanols in the distillate from the first column, compute the flow rates in kmol/h of each component in each feed, distillate, and bottoms. Draw a labeled block- flow diagram. Include the material balances in a table like Table 1.5. bottoms from the second column. mol% purity of the ethanol in the distillate from the second (b) Compute the mol% purity of the propanol mixture leaving as (c) If the recovery of ethanol is fixed at 95%, what is the maximum column?

Answer 1