OPEN ENDED LAB 2

PROCESS PLANT DESIGN

DEPARTMENT OF POLYMER AND PROCESS ENGINEERING

7th Semester

Batch 2015-2019

Submitted to: Submitted by: Group# 21

Mr. Sherafghan Iftikhar Hafiz Tanveer Ashraf 2015-PE-20
Kanza Aamir 2015-PE-22
Mustaghees Siddique 2015-PE-45

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore

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Process Plant Design

Lab Results
• The method used is NRTL. As it is best suited for phase equilibria calculations.
• Air flow rate is 0.323 kmol/hr.
• Net energy duty is 4.77 kW.
• The fractional conversion achieved for methane in the process is 98% at the inlet pressure of
60 Psig.
• The conversion of the methane decreases with increase in the pressure as shown in graph.

Pressure vs Conversion
99.40

99.20

99.00
Conversion %

98.80

98.60

98.40

98.20

98.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Pressure (Psig)

Graph: Influence of pressure on conversion of methane

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Process Plant Design

Influence of pressure on the conversion of methane in a burning

reaction of methane and air using ASPEN Plus simulation software
Problem statement:
Determine how much energy is available from a 5 ft3/h fuel stream that consists of only methane
at 60 psig. The air feed should be approximated with 80 mol-% nitrogen and 20 mol-% oxygen.
There should be 10% excess oxygen in the air stream, so the fuel-air mixture is not too rich.
Assume the exhaust is 182 °C. Report the air flow rate in kmol/h and ft3/h (at 1 atm) in addition
to the available heat in kW.

CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O

All the unknowns should be found using ASPEN PLUS Software.

• Specify the property package used for the above problem and the reason to choose it.

• What fraction of the methane is converted in the process?

• Also discuss the influence of pressure on conversion with the same specifications as in the
problem.

Abstract:
Methane is a big source of energy. A large amount of heat evolved when it burns in air. In this
problem the energy obtained from the 5 ft3/h of fuel which consists of only methane is determined
using ASPEN Plus simulation software. Air flow rate for 5 ft3/h of fuel is also determined. In
simulation environment fuel and air streams are mixed in a furnace and reaction is take place. A
valve is used to bring the pressure of fuel stream at 1 atm from 60 Psig. It has been observed that
for 5 ft3/h of fuel 280 ft3/h of air is required which is 0.32 kmol/hr. As 10% excess of oxygen is
used. Energy available from 5 ft3/h of fuel is 4.77 kW at 60 Psig. Conversion of methane is 98.33%.
By increasing the pressure conversion of methane is decreased and vice versa.
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Process Plant Design

Procedure:
In ASPEN Plus simulation software first of all components O2, N2, CO2, water, and methane are
selected. NRTL property method is selected for property analysis. Two streams are added to a
furnace for reaction. One stream is of fuel (methane only) at 60 Psig and at room temperature. A
valve is connected to fuel stream to bring the pressure of fuel stream at 1 atm. The flow rate of
fuel is 5 ft3/h. The other stream is of air (mixture of 80% N2 and 20% O2). Mole flow rate of air is
0.33565 kmol/hr. That is in 10% excess of O2. The overall flowsheet is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Process flowsheet

The input specifications of furnace are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Input specifications of Furnace

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Process Plant Design

Under reaction tab a new reaction is generated as shown in Figure 3. 80% fractional conversion of
methane is selected.

Figure 3: Reaction specifications

By running the simulation, we get the results. And the influence of inlet pressure on the fractional
conversion of methane is studied by changing the pressure from 20 Psig to 70 Psig.

Results and Discussion:

Simulation results at 60 Psig pressure are given in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Results of each streams

Fractional conversion of methane based on mole fraction at 60 Psig = In-out/ In

=1-0.0166/1 =98.33%
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Process Plant Design

The influence of inlet pressure of methane on fractional conversion of methane is shown in Graph
1. We can see from the graph that by increasing the inlet pressure fractional conversion of methane
is decreased.

Pressure vs Conversion
99.40 99.19
99.20
98.97
Conversion %

99.00
98.75
98.80
98.54
98.60
98.33
98.40
98.13
98.20
98.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Pressure (Psig)

Graph 1: Inlet pressure of methane vs conversion of methane

Available energy from a 5 ft3/h fuel stream is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Available energy from a 5ft3/h fuel stream

Conclusion:
The influence of pressure on the fractional conversion of methane is determined using ASPEN
Plus simulation software. From the above results and discussion, we can conclude that inlet
pressure of methane has inverse relationship with the fractional conversion of methane. As the
pressure increased fractional conversion of methane is decreased and vice versa. NRTL property
method is used for phase equilibria calculations. It has been observed that for 5 ft3/h of fuel 280
ft3/h of air is required which is 0.32 kmol/hr. Energy available from 5 ft3/h of fuel is 4.77 kW at
60 Psig. Conversion of methane is 98.33% at 60 Psig.