Question 1 Terephthalic acid (TPA), a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fiber, film, and soft drink bottles, is synthesized from -xylene (PX) in the process shown below. C8H10 + 302 →...

Extracted text: Question 1 Terephthalic acid (TPA), a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fiber, film, and soft drink bottles, is synthesized from -xylene (PX) in the process shown below. C8H10 + 302 → C8H604 + 2H2O Off-gases: 4 mole% 02, 96% N2 PX = p-xylene S= solution TPA = terephthalic acid 02, N2, H20(v) 105°C, 5.5 atm H20(1) CONDENSER Air @ 25°C, 6.0 atm REACTOR PX(I) Reactor feed 3 kg S/kg PX РX, ТРА, S TPA(s) SEPARATOR Recycle (1): PX, S A fresh feed of pure liquid PX combines with a recycle stream containing PX and a solution (S) of a catalyst (a cobalt salt) in a solvent (methanol). The combined stream, which contains S and PX in a 3:1 mass ratio, is fed to a reactor in which 90% of the PX is converted to TPA. A stream of air at 25°C and 6.0 atm absolute is also fed to the reactor. The air bubbles through the liquid and the reaction given above takes place under the influence of the catalyst. A liquid stream containing unreacted PX, dissolved TPA, and all the S that entered the reactor goes to a separator in which solid TPA crystals are formed and filtered out of the solution. The filtrate, which contains all the S and PX leaving the reactor, is the recycle stream. A gas stream containing unreacted oxygen, nitrogen, and the water formed in the reaction leaves the reactor at 105°C and 5.5 atm absolute and goes through a condenser in which essentially all the water is condensed. The uncondensed gas contains 4.0 mole% 02. Taking 100 kmol TPA produced/h as a basis of calculation, a. Draw and label a flowchart for the process. b. What is the required fresh feed rate (kmol PX/h)? c. What are the volumetric flow rates (m /h) of the air fed to the reactor, the gas leaving the reactor, and the liquid water leaving the condenser? Assume ideal gas behavior for the two gas streams. d. What is the mass flow rate (kg/h) of the recycle stream?