If three thousand kilograms per hour of a mixture containing equal parts by mass of ethanol as well as water is distilled. Product streams leave the top as well as the bottom of the distillation column. The flow rate of the top stream is measured as well as found to be 1850 kg/h, and the bottom stream is analyzed and found to contain 6 wt% ethanol.
(a) Depict and label a flowchart of the process.
(b) Conduct a degree of freedom analysis (DOF), identifying the unknown variables as well as the number of independent equations. Can the problem be solved?
(c) Compute the mass flow rate of the bottom product stream as well as the mass fractions of the ethanol and water in the top product stream.