Energy Balance in Non-Reactive Systems
Energy Balance in Non-Reactive Systems
5.1.3 Classify each of the following process as batch, continuous or semi-batch and
either as transient or steady state. Briefly explain the answers.
i. Liquid stream is heated from 25°C to 80°C. The inlet and outlet pipes have
the same diameter and there is no change in elevation between these two
points.
ii. Hot cake on the table (just taken out from the oven).
(Final Exam Jun 2008)
5.1.5 Simplify the energy balance equation (closed or open system) for the two
following cases. State whether heat transfer (Q) and work done (W) are positive,
negative or zero in each case. Briefly explain the answer.
ii. The boiler (system) is supplied the energy from the solar collector.
iii. An engineer is assigned to monitor heat transfer of a boiler and power
output of a turbine.
5.1.7 Write down and simplify a general energy balance for each of the following
processes. List all assumptions that you made.
i. Determine the reference state used to generate the listed specific internal
energies.
i. What is the final phase of the water? Indicate the location of the water on
a T−V diagram.
ii. State the type of process that the water has undergone.
iii. If the work input during the process is 2320 kJ, determine the initial
temperature of the water.
(Final Exam Oct 2007)
Ans: (i) superheated steam (ii) adiabatic compression (iii) 200°C at 5 bar
5.1.13 Oxygen at 200 K and 42.66 atm has a tabulated specific volume of 5.214 cm3/g
and a specific internal energy of 1985 J/mol. Calculate the specific enthalphy of
O2 in this state in J/mol and cal/mol.
(Final Exam Apr 2009 – EH220)
5.2.2 Heat is supplied to a tank filled with the 35 kg water, generating saturated steam
at 1 bar from cold water. Initially the temperature of water is 20°C. Calculate
how much that heat (kJ) is supplied.
Ans: 60555 kJ
5.2.3 Initially, a 100 L tank contains full of steam at 275°C and 15 bar. The tank and its
contents are cooled and finally the pressure drops to 1.2 bars. Some of the steam
condenses in the process.
iv. Use the mass balance and specific volume balance to determine the mass
of the steam and the condensate in kg.
v. Determine the heat transfer from the tank in kJ.
(Final Exam Mar 2005)
Ans: (ii) 104.8°C (iv) 0.0696 kg steam, 0.4806 kg condensate (v) -1121.22 kJ
5.2.5 The radiator of a steam heating system has a volume of 22 L and is filled with
superheated vapor at 350 kPa and 275°C. The steam vapor pressure drops to
125 kPa. Some of the steam condenses in the process.
i. Determine the temperature of the steam at final condition and sketch the
diagram.
ii. Calculate the mass balance of the initial and final condition of the steam.
iii. Determine the mass of the steam and the condensate in kg.
iv. Determine the heat that will be transferred to the room.
(Final Exam Oct 2006)
Ans: (i) 105.95°C (iii) 0.01589 kg steam, 0.00152 kg liquid
5.2.7 In a boiler furnace a fuel oil is burned with air producing 800 kW of thermal
energy, of which 60% is transferred as heat to boiler tubes that pass through the
furnace. The combustion products pass from the furnace to a stack at 650°C.
Water enters the boiler tubes as a liquid at 20°C and leaves the tubes as saturated
stream at 20 bars absolute.
5.2.8 Two hundred kg/min of steam enters a steam turbine at 350°C and 40 bar
through a 7.5 cm diameter line and exit at 75°C and 5 bar through a 5 cm line.
Determine the energy transferred to or from the turbine by neglect kinetic and
potential energy.
(Final Exam Apr 2011)
Ans: 13460 kW
5.2.9 A stream with 6000 kg/h of steam at 10 bar and 400°C is expanded adiabatically
to 0.5 bar in turbine to produce saturated steam. The steam leaves the turbine is
cooled to produce saturated liquid at 0.5 bar.
5.2.10 In a power generation plant, a turbine discharges 300 kg/h of saturated steam at
15 bar absolute. It is desired to generate steam at 350°C and 15 bar by mixing the
turbine discharge with a second stream of superheated steam of 450°C and
15 bar.
5.2.11 Liquid water is fed to a boiler at 24°C and 10 bar is converted at constant
pressure to superheated steam at 500°C. Superheated steam is then flows at a
rate of 250 kg/min to an adiabatic turbine, where it expands to 4 bar. The
turbine producing 1500 kW work. From the turbine the steam flows to a heater,
where it is reheated to 500°C and 4 bar. Neglect kinetic and potential energy
changes.
5.2.12 Superheated steam at 50 bar absolute and 600°C flows at a rate of 250 kg/min to
an adiabatic turbine, where it expands to 5 bar. The turbine develops 2000 kW of
power. From the turbine the steam flows to a heater, where it is reheated
isobarically to its initial temperature. Neglect the kinetic energy change.
5.2.13 An adiabatic turbine is fed with superheated steam at 450°C and 30 bar absolute
at a mass flow rate of 15,000 kg/h. The turbine delivers a power output of 1600
kW. The steam expands and leaves the turbine at a pressure of 5 bar absolute
and enters a heater where it is heated at constant pressure to its initial
temperature of 450°C.
5.2.14 Saturated water at 40°C is pumped into a boiler to produce superheated steam at
a temperature of 580°C and a pressure of 10 MPa. The steam enters a turbine and
leaves as saturated steam at a pressure of 10 kPa. The flow rate of steam is 7.2 x
104 kg/h. Neglect any heat losses in your calculation.
i. Draw a flow diagram representing the process and label all the streams
and blocks with the appropriate data.
ii. Calculate the boiler heat transfer rate in megawatt (MW).
iii. Determine the power output of the turbine in megawatt (MW).
5.2.15 Liquid water is fed to a boiler at 24°C and 10 bar and is converted at constant
pressure to superheated steam at 500°C. The superheated steam is then flows at
a rate of 250 kg/min to an adiabatic turbine, where it expands to 4 bar. The
turbine producing 1500 kW work. From the turbine the steam flows to a heater,
where it is reheated to 500°C and 4 bar. Neglect kinetic and potential energy
changes.
iii. Calculate the required heat input to the boiler in order to produce 250
(kg/min) of superheated steam.
iv. Write and energy balance on the turbine and use it to determine the outlet
stream temperature.
v. Write an energy balance on the heater and use it to determine the
required heat input (kW) to the steam.
(Final Exam Apr 2006)
Ans: (ii) 3377.4 kJ/kg (iii) 14072.5 kW (iv) 324.69°C (v) 1529 kW
5.2.16 Propane at 27°C and 2 bar enters a heat exchanger at a flow rate of 50,000 m3/h.
Saturated steam at 3 bar enters the heat exchanger to heat up the propane to
98°C at constant pressure. The steam exits the heat exchanger as condensed
liquid at 27°C. The specific enthalpies of propane at 27°C and 98°C are
1048 kJ/kg and 1310 kJ/kg, respectively. Atmospheric pressure is approximately
at 1.0 bar.
i. Calculate the amount of energy (in kW) required to heat up propane from
27°C to 98°C.
ii. Assuming no heat loss during the process, calculate the mass flow rate in
kg/s of steam required to heat up the propane.
(Gas constant, R = 0.08314 L⋅bar/mol·K; relative atomic weights: C = 12, H = 1,
O = 16)
(Final Exam Apr 2008)
Ans: (i) 1.284 x 104 kW (ii) 4.9160 kg/s
5.2.17 Saturated steam at a gauge pressure of 2.0 bar is to be used to heat a stream of
methane. The methane enters a heat exchanger at 16°C and 1.5 bar gauge at a
rate of 800 m3/min and is heated at constant pressure to 93°C. The steam
condenses and leaves the exchanger as a liquid at 27°C. The specific enthalpy of
methane at the given pressure is 941 kJ/kg at 16°C and 1073 kJ/kg at 93°C.
Assume the methane behaves as an ideal gas.
5.2.18 Isobutane (C4H10) gas enters a continuous adiabatic heat exchanger at 45°C and
250 kPa and exits at 250°C. Superheated steam at 310°C and 5.0 bar enters the
exchanger flowing counter currently to the isobutane and exits as a saturated
liquid at the same pressure.
i. Taking 150 mol of isobutane fed to the exchanger as a basis, draw and
label a process flow chart.
ii. Calculate values of the labeled specific enthalpies in the following inlet-
outlet enthalpy table for this process.
iii. By energy balance on the system, calculate the required mass feed of the
steam. Calculate also the volumetric feed ratio of the two streams (m3
steam fed/m3 isobutane fed). You may assume isobutane gas acts as an
ideal gas.
iv. Calculate the heat transferred from the water to the isobutane
(kJ/m3 isobutane fed).
5.3.2 Expression for the heat capacity at constant pressure of hydrogen cyanide is
given by
Cp
J
= 35.3 + 0.0291 T C ( )
mol⋅ C
i. By assuming ideal gas behavior, write an expression for the heat capacity
at constant volume for HCN, assuming ideal gas behavior.
ii. Determine ∆H for the constant-pressure process.
HCN (25°C, 1 atm) → HCN (100°C, 1 atm)
iii. Determine ∆H (J/mol) for the constant-volume process.
HCN (25°C, 1 m3/kmol) → HCN (100°C, 1 m3/kmol)
5.3.3 By not neglecting the effect of pressure to the enthalpy, calculate the specific
enthalpy, ∆H (kJ/mol) for each of the following processes:
i. n-C6H14 (v, 500°C, 10 atm) → n-C6H14 (l, 50°C, 5 atm)
ii. C6H6 (v, 200°C, 1 atm) → C6H6 (l, 200°C, 5 atm)
5.3.4 Air is being compressed from 100 kPa and 255K (an enthalpy of 489 kJ/kg) to
1000 kPa and 278 K (an enthalpy of 509 kJ/kg). The exit velocity of the air from
the compressor is 60 m/s. What is power required (in kW) for the compressor if
the load is 100 kg/h of air?
Ans: -0.61 kW
Answer: 18.15 kW
5.3.6 A liquid stream containing 50 mole% benzene and toluene at 25°C is fed to a
continuous single stage evaporator at a rate of 1320 mol/s. The liquid and
vapour streams leaving the evaporator both at 95°C. The liquid contains
42.5 mole% benzene and the vapour contains 73.5 mole% benzene. Calculate the
heating requirement for this process in kW.
5.3.8 Ammonia at 10°C and 9.12 bar (abs) is supplied as a coolant to a heat exchanger
for cooling. The ammonia leaves the heat exchanger at -18°C and 1.0 bar (abs).
The heat transfer rate required is 3 kW. Determine the ammonia flow rate (kg/h)
that is required to achieve this heat transfer assuming that the process is at
steady state, no chemical reactions involved and there are no heat losses or gains
from the environment.
(Final Exam Apr 2009 – EH220)
Ans: 187.5 kg/h
5.3.10 In the manufacture of nitric acid, ammonia and preheated air are mixed to form
a gas containing 10.0 mole% NH3 at 600°C. The ammonia enters the gas blending
unit at 25°C at a rate of 520 kg/h and heat is lost from the mixer to its
surroundings at a rate of 7.00 kW.
5.3.12 In the manufacture of nitric acid, ammonia (NH3) and preheated air are mixed to
form a gas containing 10 mol% NH3 at 600°C as shown in Figure 2. An ammonia
stream enters the gas mixing unit at 50°C with 8.5 mol/s. The resulted heat lost
from this mixing is 7 kW. Prepare an inlet and outlet enthalpy table and
determine the temperature of the inlet air.
A mol/s air
Q = -7 kW
T°C
5.3.13 Ethane gas enters a continuous adiabatic heat exchanger at 40°C and 250 kPa
and exits at 240°C. Superheated steam at 350°C and 5 bar (abs) enters the
exchanger flowing counter currently to the ethane and exits as a saturated liquid
at the sane pressure.
i. By taking 100 mol of ethane fed to the exchanger as a basis, draw and
label a process flow chart. Include in your labelling the volume of ethane
fed (m3), the mass of steam fed (kg) and the volume of steam (m3).
ii. Calculate values of the labelled specific enthalpies in the following inlet-
outlet enthalpy table for this process.
iii. Use an energy balance to calculate the required mass feed of the steam.
Then calculate the volumetric feed ratio of the two streams (m3 steam
fed/m3 ethane fed). Assume ideal gas behaviour for the ethane but not
the steam and recall that the exchanger is adiabatic.
iv. Calculate the heat transferred from the water to the ethane
(kJ/m3 ethane fed).
(Final Exam Sep 2011)
Ans: (ii) Ha = 0 (ref) , Hb = 3168 kJ/kg, Hc = 13.511 kJ/mol, Hd = 640.1 kJ/kg
(iii) 0.29 m3 steam fed/m3 ethane fed (iv) 1350 kJ
a) Construct the hypothetical process path from reference state to the desired
condition. State the equation of enthalpy change (∆Ĥ) of the constructed
hypothetical path. Note: No calculation needed.
b) Determine the Enthalpy change at melting (∆Ĥm) and vaporization (∆Ĥv) of
p-xylene.
c) p-Xylene gas is then contained in a cylinder fitted with a moveable piston. At
initial the gas temperature is 300oC. With piston held at fixed position, the
cylinder is moved and put in a hot fluid. Heat in the amount of 20 kcal is
transferred to the gas which raise the temperature to the 500oC. By asuming
the process is in closed system and gas behaves ideally, :
i) Write and simplify the energy balance equation. (Note: Neglect the
potential and kinetic energies in the calculation)
ii) Calculate the energy gains from temperature 300oC to 500oC in this
process. Express the energy in joules.
5.3.16 Ten moles of ethylene are to be compressed isothermally from their initial state
(pressure (P1) = 21.7 bar; temperature (T1) = 25°C; and volume (V1) = 1000
cm3/mol) to final volume (V2) of 100 cm3/mol. In addition, 35.68 kJ of heat is
loss when the gas is compressed. Under these conditions, the behaviour of the
gas is well described by the following van der waals equation of state.
RT a
P= − 2
V −b V
Given the value of constants a and b are 0.461 (m3/mol)2∙Pa and 5.821×10-5
(m3/mol), respectively.
5.3.17 In a boiler furnace, a fuel oil is burned with air producing 800kW of thermal
energy. About 70% of the thermal energy is transferred as heat to the boiler tubes
that pass through the furnace. The combustion products pass from the furnace to
a stack at 650°C. Water enters the boiler tubes as a liquid at 20°C and leaves the
tubes as saturated steam at 35 bars absolute. Calculate the mass flow rate (kg/h)
of the saturated steam.
(Final Exam Mac 2014)