The formation of ethylene oxide is a very important industrial reaction with over 5 billion pounds...

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The formation of ethylene oxide is a very important industrial reaction with over 5 billion pounds produced annually in the US. Ethylene oxide can be used to sterilize medical devices and is also used in the production of antifreeze, polyester, surfactants, and solvents. Industrially, ethylene oxide is produced by the oxidation of ethylene with air: Ethylene and enough dry air (79 % N2 and 21% O2) to supply 15% excess oxygen are fed to a reactor operated isothermally at 280 °C. The conversion of ethylene is 75% and the production rate of ethylene oxide (MW = 44.05 g/mol) is 10,000 kg/hour. Before being fed to the reactor, air, which is available at a temperature of -20 °C, passes through a heat exchanger where its temperature is raised to 75 °C. Determine the required flow rate (in kg/sec) of low pressure steam (P = 1 bar, T = 200 °C) required in the heat exchanger if all of the steam fed condenses isobaricall The formation of ethylene oxide is a very important industrial reaction with over 5 billion pounds produced annually in the US. Ethylene oxide can be used to sterilize medical devices and is also used in the production of antifreeze, polyester, surfactants, and solvents. Industrially, ethylene oxide is produced by the oxidation of ethylene with air: Ethylene and enough dry air (79 % N2 and 21% O2) to supply 15% excess oxygen are fed to a reactor operated isothermally at 280 °C. The conversion of ethylene is 75% and the production rate of ethylene oxide (MW = 44.05 g/mol) is 10,000 kg/hour. Before being fed to the reactor, air, which is available at a temperature of -20 °C, passes through a heat exchanger where its temperature is raised to 75 °C. Determine the required flow rate (in kg/sec) of low pressure steam (P = 1 bar, T = 200 °C) required in the heat exchanger if all of the steam fed condenses isobaricall

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

To determine the required flow rate of lowpressure steam in the heat exchanger we need to calculate the heat transfer required to raise the temperatur... View the full answer