Cyclo-hexane production process consists of heater, fixed bed catalytic reactor, cooler and distillation column. 100 kmol/hr of benzene at 40 oC and 1 bar and 330 kmol/hr of light gases at 50 oC and 25 bar are combined with the recycle stream before entering the heater. These light gases consist of 97.5 % hydrogen, 0.5 % nitrogen and 2 % methane. The streams are heated up to 200 oC and 23 bar before feed to the reactor. This reactor incorporated with cooling coil to ensure isothermal process. The reaction occurs involve hydrogenation of benzene with benzene overall conversion of 95 %.
C6H6 + 3H2 → C6H12
The reactor effluent is cooled to 50 oC and 23 bar before entering the distillation column. The distillation column is design to operate at 50 oC and 21.5 bar. All the light gases are recovered as overhead product in the distillation column. 92 % of the hydrogen in the light gases stream is feed back to the heater as a recycle stream. However, the remaining of the gases is purged to the air
a) The flow rate of cyclo-hexane produced from this process (MEB).
b) The fraction of liquid and vapor for the overhead and bottom product of the distillation column (MEB/TKK).
c) Amount of hydrogen recycled (MEB).
d) Calculate the equilibrium constant (K) for this reaction at 50 oC and 25 bar.
e) Energy release in the reaction process using Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics and Mass and Energy Balances approaches in kJ/h (TKK/MEB).
f) Entropy changes for the reaction process (TKK).
g) Cooling water flow rate for isothermal reactor (MEB)