Question

Saturated steam at a gauge pressure of 3.00 bar is to be used to heat a stream of ethane. The ethane enters a heat exchanger at 16°C and 1.5 bar gauge pressure at a rate of 895 m³/min and is heated at constant pressure to 93°C. The steam condenses and leaves the exchanger as a liquid at 24.0°C. The specific enthalpy of ethane at the given pressure is 941 kJ/kg at 16°C and 1073 kJ/kg at 93°C.  
You may take the compressibility factor for ethane to be 0.970 at the inlet conditions.

a) How much power must be transferred to the ethane to heat it from 16°C to 93°C? Ans: _____ kW

b) At what rate must steam be supplied to the heat exchanger if all the energy transferred from the steam goes to heat the ethane? Ans: ___ m³/s

Answer 1