You specified a 5.5 -foot diameter, 22.0 -foot long drum with a mesh demister for Example 2-4. This drum was built. Later, your boss informed you that a minor [the boss' word] mistake had been made in the specifications given to you. The flow rate of the liquid feed to be flashed is \(1500 \mathrm{kmol} / \mathrm{h}\), not \(1500 \mathrm{lbmol} / \mathrm{h}\). Since a vertical flash drum 5.5 feet in diameter has been built, is this drum adequate for the new feed rate? If not, what size additional vertical flash drum is needed if the drums will be operated in parallel to separate \(1500 \mathrm{kmol} / \mathrm{h}\) ?

Example 2-4

A vertical flash drum is to flash a liquid feed of 1500 lbmol/h that is 40 mol% n-hexane and 60 mol% n-octane at 101.3 kPa (1 atm). We wish to produce a vapor that is 60 mol% n-hexane. Solution of the flash equations with equilibrium data for y_H = 0.60 gives x_H = 0.19, T_drum = 378K, and V/F = 0.51. What size flash drum is required?