A gas stream containing 40.0mole% hydrogen, 35.0% carbon monoxide, 20.0% carbon dioxide, and 5.0% methane is cooled from 1000°C to 10°C at a constant absolute pressure of 35.0 atm. Gas enters the cooler at 120 m³/min and upon leaving the cooler is fed to an absorber, where it is contacted with refrigerated liquid methanol. The methanol is fed to the absorber at a molar flow rate 1.2 times that of the inlet gas and absorbs essentially all of the CO₂, 98% of the methane, and none of the other components of the feed gas. The gas leaving the absorber, which is saturated with methanol at — 12°C, is fed to a cross-country pipeline.

(a) Calculate the volumetric flow rate of methanol entering the absorber (m3fmin) and the molar flow rate of methanol in the gas leaving the absorber, do nor assume ideal gas behavior when doing PVT calculations.

(b) What is a possible intended use of the product gas? Why is it desirable to remove the CO₂ from the gas prior to feeding it to the pipeline?