UG-INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Handout 6

Team_______

Limiting and Excess Reactants, Fractional Conversion, and Extent of Reaction

Example 1) If you fee 10grams of N2 gas and 10 grams of H2 gas into a reactor:

a) What is the limiting reactant?

b) What is the excess reactant?
c) What is the maximum number of grams of NH3 that can be produced?
d) What are the fractional excess and the percent of fractional excess of H 2?
 UG-INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Handout 7

Team_______

Example 2) A well-known reaction to generate hydrogen from steam is the so called water gas
shit reaction: CO+H2OCO2+H2. If the gaseous feed to a reactor consists of 30 moles of CO per
hour, 12 moles of CO2 per hour, and 35 moles of steam per hour at 800C, and 18 moles of H2
are produced per hour, calculate

mol mol
CO 30 CO
CO2 12 CO2
H2O 35 H2 18
H2O

a) The limiting & excess reactant

b) The fraction conversion of steam to H2
c) The degree of completion of the reaction
d) The kg of H2 yielded per kg of steam fed.
e) The moles of CO2 produced by the reaction per mole of CO fed.
f) The extent of reaction
 UG-INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Handout 8

BALANCES ON REACTIVE PROCESSES

Preliminary Steps
1. Write the balanced stoichiometric equations for the chemical reaction. The balanced
equation indicates how the reactants combine to produce the reaction products.
2. Choose a basis for your calculation. You will generally choose a molar flow rate of one of
the reactants or one of the products as your basis. If a basis is not provided, choose one
yourself.
3. Draw a flowchart for the process. You will use the flowchart to indentify and organize the
information that you are given about the process. Label the streams with flow rates and
composition, and also note any other information given.

Once you have organized all of the information that you are provide, you are ready to write and solve
the material balances. These are three different approaches that you can use.

1. Atomic balances
2. Molecular balances
3. Extent of reaction

Example 1) Acetylene (C2H4) is produced by reacting methane (CH4) with oxygen in a continuous,
steady state reactor. Other products of the reaction include hydrogen (H 2) and carbon monoxide (CO).
20 % excess oxygen is fed to the reactor, and the fractional conversion of the limiting reactant is 0.85.
Calculate the composition of the output stream form the reactor.

1. Write a balanced stoichiometric equation:

2. Draw a flowchart:

. The Ideal Gas Equation of State

 UG-INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Handout 9

Example 1)

An ideal gas mixture contains 35% helium, 20 % methane, and 45 % nitrogen by volume
at 2.00 atm absolute and 90 C. calculate as below:
a) The partial pressure of each component
b) The mass fraction of methane
c) The average molecular weight of the gas
d) The density of the gas in kg/m3

Example 2)

A 400 ft3 tank of compressed H2 is at a pressure of 55 psig. It is connected to a smaller

tank with a valve and short line. The small tank has a volume of 50 ft3 and contains H2 at
1 atmosphere absolute and the same temperature. If the interconnecting valve is opened
and no temperature change occurs, what is the final pressure in the system?