Liquid extraction is an operation used to separate the components of a liquid mixture of two or more species. In the simplest case, the mixture contains two components: a solute (A) and a liquid solvent (B). The mixture is contacted in an agitated vessle with a second liquid solvent (C) that has two key properties: A dissolves in it, and B is immiscible or nearly immiscible with it. (For example, B may be water, C a hydrocarbon oil, and A a species that has significant solubility in both water and oil.) Some of the A transfers from B to C, and then the B-rich phase (the raffinate) and the C-rich phase (the extract) separate from each other in a settling tank. If the raffinate is then contacted with fresh C in another stage, more A will be transferred from it. This process can be repeated until essentially all of the A has been extracted from the B. Shown below is a flowchart of a process in which acetic acid (aa) is extracted from a mixture of acetic acid and water (w) into 1-hexanol (h), a liquid immiscible with water. Stream Compositions (mass fractions) a. What is the maximum number of independent material balances that can be written for this process? b. Calculate mC,mR, and mE for a basis of mF=500.0g/min. Write balances in such an order that you never have an equation that involves more than one unknown variable. mC=mR=mE=g/ming/ming/min c. Calculate the mass flow rates of acetic acid in the feed stream, the extract stream, and the raffinate stream. Acetic acid entering system: Acetic acid leaving in extract: Acetic acid leaving in raffinate: g/min g/min g/min