Acetic acid for culinary uses is widely produced via fermentation. However, it is also a commodity chemical used in polymer production and acetylation of a variety of molecules. Acetic acid can be produced in bulk by the carbonylation of methanol in the presence of an appropriate catalyst. Typical byproducts include propionic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. In one such process, 1600.0kg/min of a stream composed of 99.0wt% acetic acid and the remainder propionic acid is produced from a fresh feed consisting of a 1.1:1 molar ratio of carbon monoxide to methanol. The fresh feed mixes with two recycle streams, one composed of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, and the other composed of methanol, acetic acid, and catalyst. The mixed feed enters a catalytic reactor; the reactor products are fed to a separation column that produces three output streams (1) a gaseous output stream consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide; (2) a stream composed of methanol, acetic acid, and catalyst; and (3) a stream composed solely of acetic acid and propionic acid. A portion of stream (1) is sent to waste treatment and the remainder is recycled. All of stream (2) is recycled. Stream (3) enters a second column and yields the acetic acid product stream and a second product stream consisting of 98.5 wt\% propionic acid and the remainder acetic acid. The amount of CO leaving in the waste stream is 16.1% of that entering the process, and the mass ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid leaving the process is 47.0 . Molar Production of Acids Calculate the total amounts of acetic and propionic acids produced by the process in kmol/min. Note that you should retain more than three significant figures in the calculated quantities for use in further calculations. Acetic Acid kmol/min Propionic Acid kmol/min Single-Pass Conversion of MeOH methanol. % Acetic acid for culinary uses is widely produced via fermentation. However, it is also a commodity chemical used in polymer production and acetylation of a variety of molecules. Acetic acid can be produced in bulk by the carbonylation of methanol in the presence of an appropriate catalyst. Typical byproducts include propionic acid, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. In one such process, 1600.0kg/min of a stream composed of 99.0wt% acetic acid and the remainder propionic acid is produced from a fresh feed consisting of a 1.1:1 molar ratio of carbon monoxide to methanol. The fresh feed mixes with two recycle streams, one composed of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, and the other composed of methanol, acetic acid, and catalyst. The mixed feed enters a catalytic reactor; the reactor products are fed to a separation column that produces three output streams (1) a gaseous output stream consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide; (2) a stream composed of methanol, acetic acid, and catalyst; and (3) a stream composed solely of acetic acid and propionic acid. A portion of stream (1) is sent to waste treatment and the remainder is recycled. All of stream (2) is recycled. Stream (3) enters a second column and yields the acetic acid product stream and a second product stream consisting of 98.5 wt\% propionic acid and the remainder acetic acid. The amount of CO leaving in the waste stream is 16.1% of that entering the process, and the mass ratio of acetic acid to propionic acid leaving the process is 47.0 . Molar Production of Acids Calculate the total amounts of acetic and propionic acids produced by the process in kmol/min. Note that you should retain more than three significant figures in the calculated quantities for use in further calculations. Acetic Acid kmol/min Propionic Acid kmol/min Single-Pass Conversion of MeOH methanol. %
