Separation Separation ProcessesProcesses

Chapter1Chapter1

Exercises

Exercise1.1• The book, Chemical Process Industries, 4th

edition, by R. Morris Shreve and J. A. Brink, Jr. (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1984), contains process descriptions, process flow dia grams, and technical data for processes used commercially in 38 chemical industries. For each of the following processes, draw a block flow diagram of just the reaction and separation steps and describe the process in terms of just those steps, giving careful attention to the particular chemicals being formed in the reactor and separated in each of the separa tion operations:

(a) Coal chemicals, pp. 72-74(b) Natural gas purification, pp. 84-86(c) Acetylene, pp. 115-117(d) Magnesium compounds, pp. 174-177(e) Chlorine and caustic soda, pp. 214-219(f) Potassium chloride, pp. 269-270(g) Ammonia, pp. 278-282 (h) Sulfuric acid, pp. 299-

310 (i) Fluorocarbons, pp. 321-323 (j) Uranium, pp. 338-340 (k) Titanium dioxide, pp. 388-390 (1) Cottonseed oil, pp. 468-471 (m) Glycerin, pp. 502-503 (n) Industrial alcohol, pp. 530-534 (o) Polyethylene, pp. 587-588 (p) Formaldehyde, pp. 596-598 (q) Styrene, pp. 630-635 (r) Natural-gas liquids, pp. 660-661

Exercise1.2

• Explain in detail, using thermodynamic principles, why the mixing of pure chemicals to form a homogeneous mixture is a so-called spontaneous process, while the separation of that mixture into

its pure (or nearly pure) species is not.