Documentation:CHBE Exam Wiki/MT1 Question 1

Maple syrup is produced by concentrating the sap from maple trees. An initial stream of sap containing only sugar and water is fed into a reverse osmosis unit to remove pure water and concentrate the sugar. Following that the sugar solution is further concentrated in an evaporator which again removes pure water.

Question 1a [15 points]

Draw a flowchart for this process showing the process units and labelling what components are contained in each stream.

Question 1b [10 points]

The initial stream of sap enters the process at a total flow rate of 75.0 L/min and has a specific gravity of 1.035, it contains 12000 ppm (by weight) of sugar, what is the flow rate of water into the process in kg/min?

Question 1c [15 points]

The entire process produces a final solution containing 67.0 weight percent sugar. Of all the water removed in the process, 70.0% is removed by the reverse osmosis unit and the other 30.0% removed by the evaporator. How much water is removed in the reverse osmosis unit in kg/min?