Formaldehyde (along with water) is produced from methane and oxygen in a packed bed reactor using a special catalyst. Unfortunately, methane may also be burned completely in an undesirable side reaction. Assume that an equimolar mixture of methane and oxygen enter the reactor with a total molar feedrate of 100 mol/min. (a) What are the two balanced chemical reactions involved in this process? (b) Draw and label a flowsheet for this process and do a dof analysis using extents. (c) If the methane conversion is 90% and the formaldehyde yield is 0.85, what is the composition of the reactor effluent stream? What is the formaldehyde selectivity compared to the undesirable product?

Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
8th Edition
ISBN:9781259696527
Author:J.M. Smith Termodinamica en ingenieria quimica, Hendrick C Van Ness, Michael Abbott, Mark Swihart
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Formaldehyde (along with water) is produced from methane and oxygen in a packed bed reactor using a special catalyst. Unfortunately, methane may also be burned completely in an undesirable side reaction. Assume that an equimolar mixture of methane and oxygen enter the reactor with a total molar feedrate of 100 mol/min.

(a) What are the two balanced chemical reactions involved in this process?

(b) Draw and label a flowsheet for this process and do a dof analysis using extents.

(c) If the methane conversion is 90% and the formaldehyde yield is 0.85, what is the composition of the reactor effluent stream? What is the formaldehyde selectivity compared to the undesirable product?

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