MALAWI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

MASS & ENERGY BALANCES (MEBA-210)

MATERIAL BALANCE WITHOUT REACTIONS

Engineering Department - MIT
 Material Balance Problems
• General theme in material balance problems:
Given values of some input and output stream variables, derive and solve
equations for others
Typical problem:
One thousand kilograms per hour of a mixture of benzene (B) and
toluene (T) containing 50% benzene by mass is separated by distillation
into two fractions. The mass flow rate of benzene in the top stream is
450 kg B/h and that of toluene in the bottom stream is 475 kg T/h. The
operation is at steady state. Write balances on benzene and toluene to
calculate the unknown component flowrates in the output streams.
Material Balance Problems
• Solving the equations is often an easy task; deriving them from given
process information may however be a tedious task
The catalytic dehydrogenation of propane is carried out in a continuous
packed bed reactor. One thousand kilograms per hour of pure propane
is preheated to a temperature of 670 ⁰C before it passes into the
reactor. The reactor effluent gas, which includes propane, propylene,
methane, and hydrogen, is cooled from 800 ⁰C to 110 ⁰C and fed to an
absorption tower, where the propane and propylene are dissolved in
oil. The oil then goes to a stripping tower in which it is heated,
releasing the dissolved gases; these gases are recompressed and sent
to a distillation column in which the propane and propylene are
separated. The propane stream is recycled back to join the feed to the
reactor preheater. The product stream from the distillation column
contains 98% propylene, and the recycle stream is 97% propane. The
stripped oil is recycled to the absorption tower.
Steps for Material Balance Calculations
1. Draw a simplified flow sheet of the process
2. Place all the available data on the flow sheet using consistent units
3. Select a convenient basis for the calculations
4. Write down the equations you will solve
5. Solve the equations for unknown variables
Steps for Material Balance Calculations
Step 1: Draw a simplified flow sheet of the process
• Use boxes or other symbols to represent process units (reactors,
mixers, separation units, etc.)
• Use lines with arrows to represent input and output streams
Steps for Material Balance Calculations
Step 2: Place all the available data on the flow sheet using consistent
units
• The flow sheet must be fully labeled as soon as it is drawn with values
of known process variables and symbols for unknown variables
written for each input and output stream
• Example: a stream containing 21 mole% 𝑂2 and 79% mole% 𝑁2 at 320
⁰C and 1.4 atm flowing at a rate of 400 mol/h might be labeled as:
400 mol/h
𝑦𝑂2 = 0.21
𝑦𝑁2 = 0.79
T = 350 ⁰C; P = 1.4 atm
Labeling a flowchart
• The stream variables of primary interest in material balance problems
are those that indicate how much of each component is present in
the stream (for a batch process) or the flow rate of each component
(for a continuous process)
• For a batch processes, this information can be given in two ways:
1. Directly as the total amount of each component
𝑚𝐶𝐻4 = 3.0 𝑔
𝑚𝐶2 𝐻4 = 4.0 𝑔
𝑚𝐶2 𝐻6 = 3.0 𝑔
Labeling a flow chart (continued)
OR
ii. as the total amount of the stream and the fractions of each
component
10 g
𝑥𝐶𝐻4 = 0.3
𝑥𝐶2 𝐻4 = 0.4
𝑥𝐶2 𝐻6 = 0.3
Labeling a flow chart (continued)
• Similarly, for a continuous process, stream variables can be presented
in the following 2 ways:
i. directly as the flow rate of each component, i.e.
𝑚ሶ 𝑁2 = 60 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑚ሶ 𝑂2 =40 𝑘𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝑚𝑖𝑛

ii. as the total flow rate of the stream and the fractions of each
component, i.e.
Labeling a flow chart (continued)

𝑛ሶ 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 = 100 kmol/min

𝑦𝑁2 = 0.6
𝑦𝑂2 = 0.4

• Once you have labeled a stream one way, it is easy to calculate the
quantities that correspond to the alternative way of labeling
• For example, for the stream above,
• 𝑛ሶ 𝑁2 = O.6 X 100 kmol/min = 60 kmol/min
• 𝑛ሶ 𝑂2 = 0.4 X 100 kmol/ min = 60 kmol/min
Labeling a flow chart (continued)
• Assign algebraic symbols to unknown stream variables and write
these variable names and their associated units on the chart

• For example, if you did not know the flow rate of the stream
containing 21 mole% 𝑂2 and 79 mole% 𝑁2 at 320 ⁰C and 1.4 atm
described previously, you might label the stream:
𝑛ሶ mol/h
𝑦𝑂2 = 0.21
𝑦𝑁2 = 0.79
T = 320 ⁰C, P = 1.4 atm
Labeling a flow chart (continued)
• If the flow rate were known and the mole fractions were not, the
stream might be labeled as:

400 mol/h
𝑦𝑂2
𝑦𝑁2 = 1- 𝑦𝑂2
T = 320 ⁰C, P = 1.4 atm
Labeling a flow chart (continued)
• m and 𝑛ሶ can be employed for the flow of mass and flow of moles
respectively
• In specific problems pick obvious alphabetical letters such as F for feed, W
for water and P for product to avoid confusion
• If you run out of suitable letters of the alphabet, you can always insert
subscripts to distinguish between streams
• E.g. The mass flow of 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 to a process unit can be assigned 𝐹1
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹2 respectively
Labeling a flow chart

• Use the minimum number possible of symbols

• When labeling component mass fraction or mole fraction, the last
one must be 1 minus the sum of the others
• If the mass of stream 1 is half that of stream 2, label the masses of
these streams as m and 2m rather than 𝑚1 and 𝑚2
• If you know that mass fraction of nitrogen is 3 times than oxygen,
label mass fractions as 𝑥𝑂2 and 3𝑥𝑂2 rather than 𝑥𝑂2 and 𝑥𝑁2
• If volumetric flow rate of a stream is given, it is generally useful to
label the mass or molar flow rate of this stream or to calculate it
directly, since balances are not written on volumetric qualities
Symbols that may be used…
Symbol Designates
F kg Flow of mass in kilograms
𝐹𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝐹𝑇𝑜𝑡 Total flow of material
𝐹1 Flow in stream 1
𝐹𝐴 Flow of component A in stream F

𝑚𝐴 Mass flow of component A

𝑚 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑚 𝑇𝑜𝑡 Mass flow of the total material
𝑚𝐴,𝐹 Mass flow of component A in stream
F
𝑛𝐴,𝑊 Molar flow of component A in stream
W
𝑥𝐴,1 Mass/mole fraction of component A
in a liquid stream

𝑦𝐴,𝐹 Mole fraction of A in stream F, a gas

Steps for Material Balance Calculations
3. Select a convenient basis for the calculations
• In order to solve some Chem Eng problems, a selection of a “basis of
calculation” may be required
• A basis is basically a reference you choose for the calculations you
plan to make
• Depending on the problem or the process information given, the
basis may be a period of time e.g. hours, mass, moles or volume of
material, or any other convenient quantity
Selecting a basis….
• Although picking a basis is listed in Step 3 here, frequently you know
what basis to pick immediately after reading the problem statement
and can enter the value on your process diagram at that time
• If an amount or flowrate of a stream is given in the problem
statement, it is usually convenient to use it as the basis of calculation
• If several stream amounts or flow rates are given, always use them
collectively (summation) as the basis
Selecting a basis
• If no stream amount or flow rate is specified in the problem
statement, take as a basis an arbitrary amount or flow rate of a
stream with a known composition (e.g., 100 kg or 100 kg/h if all mass
fractions are known, or 100 mol or 100 mol/h if all mole fractions are
known
• Be sure to write the word Basis on your calculation page, and enter
the value and associated units so that you, and anyone who reads the
page, can later on know what you did
• Choosing a basis often eliminate at least one unknown

• Reading exercise: Choosing a basis on Section 2.7 (Page 52) in Basic

Principles of Calculations in Chemical Engineering by D Himmelblau &
J. Riggs
Steps for Material Balance Calculations
4. Write down the equations you will solve
5. Solve the equations for unknown variables
RECALL:
• Material balance can be written in terms of the following conserved
quantities:
• Total mass/moles
• Mass/moles of a chemical compound
• Mass /moles of an atomic species
• Number of moles are only conserved when there is NO
chemical reaction taking place
RECALL:
• The general material balance for any conserved quantity can be
written as:

𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 + (𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

Where:
Accumulation - change in quantity of material inside the system
Input - material that enters the system by crossing system boundary
Output - material that exits the system by crossing system boundary
Generation - material produced by chemical reaction within the system
Consumption - material used up by chemical reaction within the system
RECALL:
• The following rules may be used to simplify the material balance
equation:

𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 + (𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

1. If the system is at steady state, set accumulation = 0

𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 + 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 0

RECALL:
2. If the balanced quantity is total mass, set generation = 0 and
consumption = 0 (law of conservation of mass)

𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡

• If the balanced substance is a nonreactive species, (neither a

reactant nor a product) or for non-reacting systems in general, set
generation = 0 and consumption = 0

𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡

 Example 1 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡 − 𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡 + (𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)

One thousand kilograms per hour of a mixture of benzene (B) and toluene
(T) containing 50% benzene by mass is separated by distillation into two
fractions. The mass flow rate of benzene in the top stream is 450 kg B/h and
that of toluene in the bottom stream is 475 kg T/h. The operation is at
steady state. Write balances on benzene and toluene to calculate the
unknown component flowrates in the output streams. In addition, calculate
the mass flowrates of the top and bottom streams.

Solutions:
i. Mass flow rate of Benzene in bottom stream = 50 kg/h
ii. Mass flowrate of Toluene in top stream = 25 kg/h
iii. Top stream = ; Bottom stream =
Example 2
Two methanol–water mixtures are contained in separate flasks. The
first mixture contains 40.0 wt% methanol, and the second contains
70.0 wt% methanol. If 200 g of the first mixture is combined with 150 g
of the second, what are the mass and composition of the product?

• Solutions
• Mass of product = 350 g
• Mass fraction of methanol in product = 0.53
• Mass fraction of water in product = 0.47
Exercise
A liquid mixture of benzene and toluene contains 55.0% benzene by
mass. The mixture is to be partially evaporated to yield a vapor
containing 85.0% benzene and a residual liquid containing 10.6%
benzene by mass. Suppose that the process is to be carried out
continuously and under steady state, with a feed rate of 100.0 kg/h of
the 55% mixture. Let 𝑉ሶ (kg/h) and 𝐿ሶ (kg/h) be the mass flow rates of
the vapor and liquid product streams, respectively. Draw and label a
process flowchart, and solve for unknown flow rates and compositions.