Aniline is produced by the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene. A small amount of cyclo-hexylamine is produced as a byproduct. The reactions are:
Nitrobenzene is fed to the reactor as a vapor, with three times the stoichiometric quantity of hydrogen. The conversion of the nitrobenzene, to all products, is 96%, and the selectivity for aniline is 95%.
The unreacted hydrogen is separated from the reactor products and recycled to the reactor. A purge is taken from the recycle stream to maintain the inerts in the recycle stream below 5%. The fresh hydrogen feed is 99.5% pure, the remainder being inerts.
All percentages are molar.
For a feed rate of 100 kmol/h of nitrobenzene, calculate
a. the fresh hydrogen feed,
b. the purge rate required,
c. the composition of the reactor outlet stream.