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1. Methanol is synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a catalytic reactor. The fresh feed to the system contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen and nitrogen.

1. Methanol is synthesized from carbon monoxide and hydrogen in a catalytic reactor. The fresh feed to the system contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen and nitrogen. Nitrogen content in the fresh feed is 4.0 mol%. The fresh feed stream is mixed with recycle stream to produce the feed to reactor. The feed to reactor contains 29.0 mol% CO, 58.0 mol% hydrogen and 13.0 mol% nitrogen. Single-pass conversion (for both H2 and CO) achieved in reactor : 25%. The reactor effluent goes to a condenser from which two streams emerge: liquid product stream containing essentially all the methanol in the reactor, and a gas stream containing all of the CO, H2, and N2 leaving the reactor. Gas stream from condenser is split into two: one is removed from the process as a purge stream, and the other is the recycle stream that combines with fresh feed. Purge stream flowrate is 20% of the gas stream leaving the condenser. Basis calculation: reactor feed rate is 100kmol/h. (1) Draw and label a flowchart. (2) What is the mass composition of the reactor feed stream? (3) Perform the DOF for overall system, and all subsystems. (4) What is the molar composition of the reactor output stream? (5) What is methanol production rate. cg/hr? (6) What is the overall conversion for this process? (7) What is the molar composition of the recycle stream? (8) What is the flowrate of the fresh feed to the system? What is its composition? (9) Briefly explain in your own words reasons for including recycle stream and purge stream in the process design. Bonus: Why is Nitrogen used in the process?

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