ChE $203$

Chapter $3($and $1$ and $2)$ group problem

Acetone can be produced by the dehydrogenation of

isopropanol:

$C{H}_{3}CH(OH)C{H}_{3}C{H}_{3}COC{H}_3+H_2$

Under the same conditions, isopropanol can be dehydrated

to form propylene:

$C{H}_{3}CH(OH)C{H}_{3}C{H}_2=CHC{H}_3+H_{2}O$

A reactor is to be designed to achieve $92\%$ conversion of

isopropanol with a selectivity of acetone to propylene of

The product stream will enter a condenser from which

$97\%$ of the acetone is to be removed as a liquid, along with

all of the water and isopropanol. All the propylene and

hydrogen exit the condenser in a vapor stream. The liquid

stream is fed to a distillation column. The distillate from

that column is $95$mol$\%$ acetone and contains nine times as

much isopropanol than water on a molar basis. This is the

product stream to be marketed. An additional specification

on the process is that $90\%$ of the acetone produced in the

reactor should be recovered in that stream.

Draw and label a process flow diagram, using an entire

sheet of paper in landscape orientation.

For a basis of $1000mo\frac{l}{?}$ hour isopropanol fed to the

system, evaluate all component flowrates in each stream.

Show your calculations neatly and with annotations so

that they can be followed. $($For example, if you're doing

an acetone balance on the condenser, say so$.)$

Demonstrate with atom balances on the outer boundary

that your solution "closes" the material balance.

If the final product acetone$-$rich distillate stream is

intended to yield $50,000$ metric tons per year under

continuous operation with one week of planned shut$-$

down, find the factor by which all the flowrates should

be scaled for the process design. Note: this only

requires some calculation on that product stream;

everything else will be scaled by the same factor. A little

chapter $1$ review here...