Fresh feed (pure ethanol) is blended with a recycle stream (95 mole% ethanol and 5% acetaldehyde), and the combined stream is heated and vaporized, entering the reactor at 280°C. Gases leaving the reactor are cooled to condense the acetaldehyde and unreacted ethanol. Off-gas from the condenser is sent to a scrubber, where the uncondensed organic compounds are removed and hydrogen is recovered as a by-product. The condensate from the condenser, which is 45 mole% ethanol, is sent to a distillation column that produces a distillate containing 99 mole% acetaldehyde and a bottoms product that constitutes the recycle blended with fresh feed to the process. The production rate of the distillate is 1000 kg/h. The pressure throughout the process may be taken as 1 atm absolute. If the molar flow rate of acetaldehyde in the condensate that feeds the distillation column is 23.43 kmol/h, what is the mass flow rate of ethanol in the recycle stream (kg/h)?
Fresh feed (pure ethanol) is blended with a recycle stream (95 mole% ethanol and 5%
acetaldehyde), and the combined stream is heated and vaporized, entering the reactor at 280°C.
Gases leaving the reactor are cooled to condense the acetaldehyde and unreacted ethanol. Off-gas
from the condenser is sent to a scrubber, where the uncondensed organic compounds are removed
and hydrogen is recovered as a by-product. The condensate from the condenser, which is 45 mole%
ethanol, is sent to a distillation column that produces a distillate containing 99 mole% acetaldehyde
and a bottoms product that constitutes the recycle blended with fresh feed to the process. The
production rate of the distillate is 1000 kg/h. The pressure throughout the process may be taken as
1 atm absolute.
If the molar flow rate of acetaldehyde in the condensate that feeds the distillation column is 23.43
kmol/h, what is the mass flow rate of ethanol in the recycle stream (kg/h)?
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