Material and Energy Balances

Mass Balance Calculations

Multi-unit Processes

02/12/10 1
 Objectives
Material and Energy Balances

At the end of this chapter, you should be able

to:
• Apply material balances for multi-unit
processes
• Derive and solve material balance problems

02/12/10 2
 Multiple unit processes
Material and Energy Balances

• Industrial chemical processes generally involve

more than one unit operation
• One or more chemical reactors with units for
– Mixing reactants
– Blending products
– Heating and cooling process streams
– Separating products from unconsumed
reactants
– Removing potentially hazardous products or
pollutants

02/12/10 3
 System
Material and Energy Balances

• A “system” is any portion of a process that can be

enclosed within a hypothetical box (boundary)
• It may be the
– Entire process
– An interconnected combination of some of the
process units
– A single unit
– A point at which two or more process streams come
together or one stream splits into branches
• The input and outputs are the process streams that
intersect the system boundary

02/12/10 4
 Illustration – A two unit process
Material and Energy Balances

Feed 2
A

C E
B D
Feed 1 Product 3
UNIT 1 UNIT 2

Product 1 Product 2 Feed 3

• Boundary A encloses the entire process – overall

system
• All other boundaries are subsystems
02/12/10 5
 Example 1
Material and Energy Balances

A labeled flowchart of a continuous steady state two-

unit process is shown. Calculate the unknown flow
rates and compositions of streams 1, 2 and 3.

40 kg/h 30.0 kg/h

0.900 kg A/kg 0.600 kg A/kg
0.100 kg B/kg 0.400 kg B/kg

100 kg/h 1 2 3
0.500 kg A/kg
0.500 kg B/kg

30.0 kg/h
0.300 kg A/kg
0.700 kg B/kg

02/12/10 6
 Example 2
Material and Energy Balances

Acetone is used in the manufacture of many chemicals

and also as a solvent. In its later role, many restrictions
are placed on the release of acetone vapor to the
environment. You are asked to design an acetone
recovery system having the flowchart illustrated in Fig.
All the concentrations shown in Fig of both gases and
liquids are specified in weight percent. The mass flow
rate of the entering gas, G, is 1400 kg/h.
Calculate A, F, W, B and D per hour.

02/12/10 7
 Flowchart of example 2
Material and Energy Balances

02/12/10 8
 Conclusions
Material and Energy Balances

• You have learnt

– To derive and solve material balance
problems on multiple unit processes

02/12/10 9