ANSWER Q4

The two reactions in the system are :

CH4 + O2 → HCHO + H2O (1)
CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O (2)
Reaction (1) is the desired reaction and reaction (2) is an undesired reaction.
Basis of calculation : 100 mol of exit gas.
A simple block diagram may be drawn to represent the process.

We know that no HCHO enters the reactor and that the only HCHO formed is formed
in reaction 1.
 39.0 mol HCHO must have been formed in reaction (1), and,
39.0 mol H2O must have also been formed in reaction (1),
39.0 mol CH4 must have been consumed by reaction (1), and
39.0 mol O2 must have also been consumed by reaction (1).
By similar reasoning we know that no CO2 enters the reactor and the CO2 is only formed
in reaction 2.
 5.2 mol CO2 must have been formed in reaction (2),
2  5.2 = 10.4 mol H2O must also have been formed in reaction (2),
5.2 mol CH4 must have been consumed by reaction (2), and,
10.4 mol O2 must have also been consumed by reaction (2).
As a check of the above calculations we know that no H2O enters the reactor, but that
49.4 mol leaves. This 49.4 moles must have been produced by both reactions.
Checking the above calculations we see that indeed, 39.0 + 10.4 = 49.4 mol H2O was
produced in total by the two reactions.
The component balance for CH4 around the reactor is :
(mol CH4 in) = (mol CH4 out) + (mol CH4 consumed)
= 2.2 + 39.0 + 5.2
= 46.4 mol
The component balance for O2 around the reactor is :
(mol O2 in) = (mol O2 out) + (mol O2 consumed)
= 4.2 + 39.0 + 10.4
= 53.6 mol
Thus the feed to the reactor contains 46.4 mol CH4 and 53.6 mol O2. This gives a total
of 100.0 moles. In this case it is not a coincidence that the number of moles in the feed
is equal to the number of moles in the product stream. Examination of the stoichiometry
of the two reactions shows that for both reactions the number of moles is conserved.
So, the composition of the feed to the reactor is 46.4 mol % CH4 and 53.6 mol % O2.
mol CH 4 consumed in
total in both reactions
% conversion of CH 4 =  100
a) mol CH 4 in
39.0 + 5.2
=  100 = 95.3
46.4

b) In order to calculate the excess O2 we first need to calculate the amount of O2

required to consume all the limiting reactant (in this case CH4) in the desired
reaction. We know that 46.4 mol CH4 is initially present. From the reaction
stoichiometry of the desired reaction, i.e., reaction (1), we see that 1 mol of O 2
to required for every mole of CH4. So, 46.4 mol O2 is required to consume all
the CH4 in reaction (1).
The excess O2 is defined as being the amount of O2 over and above the amount
required to consume all the limiting reactant in the desired reaction. For the
present system that means the excess O2 is the amount of O2 in excess of the
46.4 mol. Thus, the excess O2 is 53.6 - 46.4 = 7.2 mol. The excess O2 is not
the amount of O2 left over after the reaction have occurred, i.e., it is not equal to
the 4.2 mol found in the exit gas stream.
 The percentage excess is defined as follows :
mol O 2 in excess
% excess O 2 =  100
mol O 2 required to
consume all the CH 4
in reaction (1)
7.2
So, % excess O 2 = 100 = 15.5
46.4
It is important to note that the calculation of the percentage excess of the O2 is
based solely upon the composition of the feed gas, i.e., in this case 46.4 mol CH4
and 53.6 mol O2. It is not based upon what actually happens within the reactor.
Thus, the amount of O2 which actually leaves the reactor does not play a part in
the calculations once the feed gas composition is known.
c) The percentage yield of the system is defined as follows :
moles of desired product
( HCHO ) formed
% yield =  100
moles of desired product
( HCHO ) that would haved been
formed if all the CH 4 had have been
consumed in the desired reaction
In the above definition the denominator is the maximum possible number of
moles of HCHO that could have been formed. We know that 39.0 mol HCHO
was formed in the process. Further we know from the stoichiometry of reaction
(1) that 1 mol of HCHO is formed for every 1 mol of CH4 that reacts. We would
therefore conclude that the maximum amount of HCHO that could have been
formed is 46.4 mol.
39.0
 % yield = 100 = 84.1
46.4
d) The answer to this question may either be given as a ratio or a percentage.
mol of CH 4 consumed by desired reaction
selectivity ratio =
mol of CH 4 consumed by other reactions
39.0
= = 7.50
5.2
mol of CH 4 consumed by desired reaction
% selectivity =  100
mol of CH 4 consumed by all reactions
39.0
=  100
39.0 + 5.2
= 88.2