This document summarizes an experiment on predicting azeotropic equilibrium conditions through batch distillation of a water-2-propanol mixture. The experiment measured vapor-liquid equilibrium at different compositions and temperatures. Results showed that the azeotropic point occurs when the mole fraction of vapor equals the mole fraction of liquid. Models like Van Laar were used to plot the equilibrium curve and determine bubble point and dew point. The experiment successfully identified conditions for azeotropic equilibrium through batch distillation.
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Running Head AZEOTROPIC EQUILIBRIUM AZEOTROPIC EQUILIBRIUM.docx
1. Running Head: AZEOTROPIC EQUILIBRIUM
AZEOTROPIC EQUILIBRIUM 2
Predicting Azeotropic Batch Distillation Equilibrium conditions
Jassim Alajmi
November 12, 2019
Jassim Alajmi, Ashraf Al Shekaili, and David Luong
ChE 450
Group Number 5
Dr. Larry Jang
California State University-Long Beach
Department of Chemical Engineering
Table of contents:
1. Abstract
1. Introduction
1. Materials and methods
1. Results
1. Dissections
1. Conclusion
1. References
Abstract
Vapor liquid equilibrium is very important now a days where
2. most separation plants uses it. It helps to separate gas from
liquid or liquid from gas to use it for some other purpose. In
this experiment the goal was to Predict VLE of non-ideal
mixture of water and 2-propanol at atmospheric pressure.
Additionally, the group focus on Find the relationship between
batch distillation and VLE. The results were satisfying where
the data that was collected where converted to a point in the
that was under equilibrium curve.
Introduction
The vapor liquid equilibrium (VLE) is very important in
chemical engineering field where it relate the distribution of a
chemical species among the vapor phase and a liquid phase.
Batch distillation is one of the essential processes in chemical
engineering field nowadays, where it refer to the use of
distillation column in order to separate mixture components into
fraction of that mixture. The goal of this lab exercise is to study
and analyze the conditions necessary for the azeotropic
conditions which include but not limited to, bubble point, VLE
composition and dew point. The name given to the liquid whose
physical characteristics include boiling at a given composition
and at a constant temperature is azeotrope. In this lab exercise,
a mixture of water and 2-propanol was used as the specimen to
evaluate the hypothesis when using batch distillation method
(Gorak, 2014). This type of distillation has its applications in
water treatment plants. It is also a common process used to
perform separation of various materials in pharmaceutical
plants. These, among other applications, makes this process
very important in daily application.
On the sections that follows, the list of equipment, materials,
results and discussions are well explained. All the tests were
carried out at normal atmospheric pressure. Enthalpies of
mixing for such system has been reported before. The extensive
knowledge obtained from testing the vapor-liquid equilibria in a
water-n-propanol can be used for further testing of equilibrium
systems such as the vapor-liquid equilibria in water-n-propanol-
n-butanol system (Gunawan, 2010).
3. Below are some of the important equations that shall be used
when performing the analysis of the results obtained
experimentally.
The Antoine equation
. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . … . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .Equation 1
Where i= 1,2. At point 1, the saturation pressure of 2-proponol
is obtained while at point 2, the saturation pressure of 2-
propanol is obtained.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Equation 2
When the value of x and y in the equation 2 above are equal
azeotropic point is achieved, it is the point where the mole
fraction of the liquid and the gas are equal. It follows then that
the Raoult`s Law is as follows;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Equation 3
When x=y, the values ( activity coefficient) can be obtained.
Material and method
Apparatus
i. Boiling chips
ii. Boiling flask
iii. Electronic balance
iv. Othmer still distillation apparatus
v. Refractometer
vi. Heating mantle
vii. Beakers/ vials
viii. Condensers
Procedure
The binary mixture shouldn’t, under any circumstance be drunk
by students whether in lab or anywhere else. It was also
necessary that students worn safety goggles and lab coat to
protect them in case the mixture ever flashed while carrying out
the experiment. Students were also advised to not spill any
4. liquid on electrical equipment to avoid damaging it and also to
prevent electrocution. It was also important for student to note
that other than being highly flammable liquid, isopropanol was
capable of causing eye irritation (Cunningham, 2011).
i. The batch distillation was set up as shown in the figure and
the reflux turned on. The following ratios were used for water
and 2-propanol during the experiment, 10%, 15% and 20%. A
100g of the solution was used during the experiment.
Figure 1: The distillation set up for the lab exercise
Figure 2: The actual lab set up for the distillation
ii. the mixture was weighed on the electronic balance after
which it was poured into the boiling flask. A beaker was placed
on the electronic balance where the distillate would pour. The
balance was first zeroed to avoid errors during the
measurements. The refractometer was zeroed using the DI
water. The reflective index of the initial mixture was obtained
so that the mass fraction of the 1- propanol could be obtained
(Kagaku , & Kōgakkai , 2018).
iii. The mixture was heated. The reflective index of the mixture
heated was recorded after every degree rise in temperature. The
refractive index pf the distillate was also obtained.
iv. The process continued until the weight percent of the alcohol
vapor ran out. Results
Parameters for equations 1, 2 and 3 obtained from the
experiment.
Van Laar
2.470754
1.090241
Table 1: Equation parameters
5. 1.075009
2.115062
0.6813
0.3187
Run 1 : not adding anything
Time (s)
Condensate
wt % 2-propanol
mol %
Pool
wt %
mol %
0
1.37021
1.3626
180
1.37062
1.36286
360
1.3716
9. Time (s)
Condensate
wt %
mol %
Pool
wt %
mol %
0
1.34096
1.36219
180
1.34096
1.36215
360
1.34096
1.36234
540
1.34107
10. 1.3621
720
1.34147
1.3623
900
1.34179
9.79
0.03151387
1.36228
36.16
0.14517535
Table 5: Run 3 mole fraction of the water and wt% 2-propanol
Discussion
The following graphs were obtained when Van Laar model was
used. The liquid composition of the liquid is in the x-axis and
vapor composition is in the y-axis.
Figure 3: The graph above is a vapor-Liquid equilibrium
diagram developed using the Van Laar model
Figure 4: The bubble point and dew point diagram for the
parameters predicted using the Van Laar Model
Table 1 indicate and where they are the parameter for the Van
11. Larr equation which they been used to find model parameter for
azeotropic condition. Table 2 indicate the model parameter that
was obtained. Table 3-5 are the three trials that was done in the
experiment. Trial one was without adding anything to the
apparatus, trial two wad run by adding 2-propanol, and trail 3
was done by adding water and the date shown in the table was
obtained.
The refractive indices and densities of the binary system were
recorded in the table 4 at room temperature (Nevers, 2013). The
excess volumes of mixing the binary system have been
calculated from the densities recorded before used to plot the
figure 4 above. The asymmetry seen in the curve is probably not
real at all since many thermodynamic functions are not
asymmetric at all. The tables 4 and 5 contain the equilibrium
results for the water-n-propanol system. The absolute deviation
of the above values from smooth curve is probably less than
0.001. it was also found that from the curves plotted. ===.. At
low alcohol concentration, there challenges encountered when
operating the equilibrium because the boiling region did rapidly
change. The graphical boiling point values for n-propanol and
water through extrapolation in a t-x diagram at 760 mm Hg are
97.1 and 100. respectively. The values differ from those
obtained through Antoine equations which were 97.1and 100.00
respectively. The estimated errors from the extrapolation
process is approximately 0.C. Conclusion
The lab exercise was success because the state objective was
achieved. The conditions necessary for azeotropic equilibrium
were determine. For this type of equilibrium to take place the
mole ratio of the vapor and liquid propanol must be equal.
Other than plotting several figures which assisted in analysis,
several other equations were introduced in the process which
were used to validate the results obtained from the experiment.
Batch distillation methods gives results with a higher degree of
accuracy compared to other methods of distillation. The
conditions for processing the type of feeds involved helped in
the analysis of the product. This method is useful in
12. pharmaceutical process because the exact ratio and quantities
are needed when developing certain drugs whose components
can prove lethal if they are used in excess.
Though the errors were minimal during the experiment, the
possible sources of errors could be failure to zero the electronic
balance and thereby false values of mass were obtained. When
determining the ratio of water and propanol, it was possible
some errors occurred and thereby falsifying the results
(Rousseau, 2017).
References
Gorak, A. (2014). Distillation: Fundamentals and Principles.
Academic Press.
Kagaku Kōgaku Kyōkai (Japan), & Kagaku Kōgakkai (Japan).
(2018). Journal of chemical engineering of Japan. Tokyo:
Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan.
Rousseau, R. W. (2017). Handbook of separation process
technology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Nevers, N. . (2013). Physical and chemical equilibrium for
chemical engineers. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Gunawan, R. J. (2010). Experimental measurement of liquid-
fluid equilibria of dodecane + carbon dioxide and methyl oleate
+ carbon dioxide.
Cunningham, J. R., & Jones, D. K. (2011). Experimental results
13. for phase equilibria and pure component properties. New York,
N.Y: American Institute of Chemical Engineers
X-Y Plot for IPROPNOL and H2O (Thermo = VANL01, P =
14.696 psia)
x = y0101Equilibrium curve05.0000001000000002E-
20.10.150000009999999990.20.250.300000009999999980.3499
99989999999980.400000010000000020.449999990000000020.5
0.550000009999999980.600000019999999970.64999998000000
0030.699999990000000020.750.800000009999999980.8500000
19999999970.899999980000000030.94999999000000002100.40
5796800000000010.495240720000000020.52741735999999995
0.541687490000000050.549796219999999950.55638145999999
9990.563598449999999970.572563830.583924530.5981140099
99999970.615481020000000050.636362850000000040.6611318
60000000020.690232040000000050.724213180000000010.7637
69570000000010.809788469999999980.863416250.9261524100
00000040.99998719000000003
Liquid Composition, Mole Fraction IPROPNOL
Vapor Composition, Mole Fraction IPROPNOL
set of calculated data have been filed with the ACS Mi-
crofilm Depository Service.
Nomemclature
GE = excess Gibbs free energy, cal/g-mol
x1 = mole fraction of the more volatile component of a
y1 = mole fraction of the more volatile component of a
y1,yz = activity coefficients for components 1 and 2 in
q h , $ ~ = coefficient of correction for nonideality of the
14. T = total pressure, m m Hg
binary mixture in the liquid phase
binary mixture in the vapor phase
the liquid phase
vapor phase for components 1 and 2
Literature Cited
(1) Minh, D. C.. MS thesis, Sherbrooke University, Sherbrooke.
Que.,
Canada (1970).
(2) Minh, D. C., Ruel, M., Can. J . Chem. Eng.. 4 8 , 501
(1970).
(3) Minh, D. C.. Ruel, M.,ibid., 49, 159 (1971).
( 4 ) Prengle. H . W., Palm, G. F., ind. Eng. Chem., 49, 1769
(1957).
(5) Ramalho, R . , Delmas, J.. Can. J . Chem. Eng., 46, 32
(1968).
(6) Ramalho, R., Delmas, J., J . Chem. Eng. Data, 1 3 , 161
(1968).
(7) Selected Values of Properties of Chemical Compounds.
Thermody-
namics Research Center, Texas ABM University, College
Station,
Tex., 1970.
Received for review January 19. 1971. Resubmitted February
10, 1972.
Accepted October 26, 1972. Grants from the National Research
15. Council
of Canada are gratefully acknowledged. Additional data will
appear fol-
lowing these pages in the microfilm edition of this volume of
the Journal.
Single copies may be obtained from the Business Operations
Office,
Books and Journals Division. American Chemical Society, 1155
Sixteenth
St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Refer to the following code
number:
JCED-73-41. Remit by check or money order $7.00 for
photocopy or
$2.00 for microfiche.
Vapor-Liquid Equilibria in Mixtures of Water, n-Propanol, and
n-Butanol
Richard A. Dawe,’ David M. T. Newsham,2 and Soon Bee Ng
Deoartment of Chemical Enoineerino, Universitv of Manchester
Institute of Science and Technology. Manchester, M60
lob, U . K .
Measurements of vapor-liquid equilibria in the systems
water-n-propanol and water-n-propanol-n-butanol at
atmospheric pressure are reported. The results for the
ternary system have been compared witb those predicted
from the binary mixtures using the equation of Renon and
Prausnitz. Agreement is very satisfactory. Densities and
refractive indices of the binary and ternary mixtures at
25°C are also reported and the excess volumes of binary
mixing have been calculated.
This paper reports the results of measurements of
vapor-liquid equilibria for the systems water-n-propanol
and water-n-propanol-n-butanol at atmospheric pres-
16. sure. Enthalpies of mixing for these systems have pre-
viously been reported (5, 6) and liquid-liquid equilibrium
studies have also been published ( 7 0 ) .
Vapor-liquid equilibria in the system water-n-propanol
have been extensively investigated ( 7 ) and this system is
therefore suitable for testing the performance of the equi-
librium still used in the present work. No measurements
of vapor-liquid equilibria in the system water-n-propanol-
n-butanol have previously been reported.
Experimental
Materials used in this investigation were purified as de-
scribed in ref. 5 and 6.
For the measurements of vapor-liquid equilibria, an
equilibrium flow still similar to that described by Vilim et
at. (74) was constructed. This instrument has the advan-
tage that it avoids recirculation of the condensed vapor,
which enables reasonably precise results to be obtained
in a short time (15 min). The still used in this work dif-
fered from that of Vilim et al. in that the thermometer
well was designed to accommodate a 50-ohm capsule-
type platinum resistance thermometer (Rosemount Engi-
neering Co. Ltd.) and the vacuum jacket that insulated
the equilibrium chamber was extended to include the
droplet separator (Figure 1 ) in order to minimize thermal
I
‘I
1 I
’Present address, Department of Chemical Engineering,
17. University
of Leeds, Leeds, U.K.
To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Figure 1. Equilibrium chamber of the flow still
A, thermometer weli; B, vacuum jacket; C, droplet separator; D,
to vapor
condenser; E, 3-mm capillary; F, to liquid cooler; G, Cottrell
pump; H,
boiler; J. float-valve; K , reservoir
44 Journal of Chemical a n d Engineering D a t a , Vol. 18,
No. 1, 1973
losses. The platinum thermometer was calibrated by
intercomparison with a 25-Ohm platinum thermometer
that had been calibrated at the National Physical Labora-
tory (U.K.) on the International Practical Temperature
Scale of 1948. Resistances were measured by potentio-
metric comparison with a 100-ohm standard resistor on a
vernier potentiometer (H. Tinsley and Co. Ltd., U.K.).
Temperatures could be measured to within f0.02"C with
the platinum thermometer. No attempt was made to con-
trol the pressure in the equilibrium still, but the pressure
in the laboratory was measured by a mercury manometer
and cathetometer with an accuracy of f 0 . 0 5 mm Hg. All
pressures were corrected to give the equivalent height of
a mercury column at 0°C and standard gravity. For this
purpose a value of the local acceleration due to gravity of
981.370 f 0.001 c m s e c - 2 was used.
Preliminary measurements in which pure water was
boiled in the still showed that thermal equilibrium could
18. be attained in it to within 0.02"C. Subsequent experi-
ments with water and n-propanol mixtures indicated also
that transfer of material between vapor and liquid phases
was sufficiently rapid for a reasonable approach to equi-
librium conditions to be made. The ratio of liquid to vapor
flow rates was, typically, about 10. The droplet separator
functioned satisfactorily throughout the measurements
and no indications of entrainment in either vapor or liquid
phases were observed. The liquid samples were always
used in the freshly distilled state since they were contin-
ually recycled through the still.
Compositions of the binary liquid mixtures were deter-
mined by measurement of their refractive indices, and
those of the ternary mixtures were deduced from density
and refractive index measurements. A dipping refractom-
eter that was equipped with thermoprisms (Carl Zeiss,
Jena) and which had a measuring precision of f 2 X
was used. The temperature of the prisms was con-
trolled at 25.00" f 0.05"C by circulating water from a
thermostat. Illumination was provided by a sodium lamp.
Densities were measured at 25°C using 5-cm3 Lipkin
pycnometers that had been calibrated with distilled
water. The density of water at 25°C was taken to be
0.99705 gram ~ m - ~ . The precision of the density mea-
surements was estimated to be f0.0002 gram ~ m - ~ .
Calibration curves for composition as a function of densi-
l o o P,.,* /
6 0
w*
4 0
19. 2 0
0
20 40 6 0 80
Wl
Figure 2. Curves of constant density and refractive index for
water (1)-n-propanol (2)-n-butanol (3) at 25°C
ty and refractive index were prepared by measuring these
properties for samples of known composition. For esti-
mating ternary compositions it was necessary to prepare
curves of constant density and refractive index as a func-
tion of composition. This was achieved by interpolating
the primary results graphically to give the curves of Fig-
ure 2.
The estimated errors in the measured mole fractions
are different for each component. They are f 0 . 0 0 5 for
water and fO.O1-0.05 for n-propanol and n-butanol. The
reason for this is apparent on examination of Figure 2
which shows that the curves of constant density are al-
most vertical straight lines. This means that the percent-
age of water ( Wl) can always be accurately estimated
because it is virtually independent of the angle at which
the curves of constant density and refractive index inter-
sect. The percentage of propanol ( WZ) is more difficult to
determine particularly in the region 40 < W t < 60%
where the density and refractive index curves are almost
parallel to each other. The butanol composition (W3) is
also subject to considerable uncertainty in this region.
For values of W1 < 40%, however, W1 and W3 can be
determined to within about 1%. Th'ese estimates of the
uncertainties are substantiated in the comparison of ex-
20. perimental and calculated vapor compositions made
later.
Results and Discussion
The densities and refractive indices for the three binary
systems and the ternary system at 25°C are recorded in
Table I. Table I I gives densities and refractive indices
measured at 25.9"C for mixtures with compositions lying
on the liquid-liquid phase boundary at 25°C.
The excess volumes of mixing for the three binary sys-
tems have been computed from the densities and are re-
corded in Figure 3. The vertical error bars for the n-pro-
panol-n-butanol system represent an uncertainty in the
density measurements of f 0 . 0 0 0 2 gram ~ m - ~ . The ap-
parent asymmetry is probably not real. The other excess
thermodynamic functions are not asymmetric (6).
Vapor-liquid equilibrium results for the systems water-
n-propanol and water-n-propanol-n-butanol are present-
ed in Tables I l l and I V , respectively. References to
vapor-liquid equilibrium data for water-n-propanol may be
/
/ -0 6 I
x
Figure 3. Excess volumes of mixing of water-n-propanol (0),
water-n-butanol ( A ) , and n-propanol-n-butanol ( 0 ) at 25°C;
x
is the mole fraction of the second component
Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1973
45
21. Table I. Densities and Refractive Indices of
Solution
s of Water, Table 11. Refractive Indices and Densities of
Mixtures of Water,
n-Propanol, and n-Butanol at 25°C n-Propanol, and n-Butanol at
25.9'C and at
Compositions Lying on the Binodal Curve at 25°C
p l g r a y
7 W l W2 7 P I S cm-3 w1 wz w3 cm -
100
0
0
2.51
6.31
10.75
16.51
33. Table Ill. Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium Data for Water (1)-
n-Propanol (2)
P, m m H g t , O C x 2 Y2 71 Y2 '
756.33
756.73
756.73
756.73
756.07
755.86
757.97
757.97
757.97
758.08
758.08
758.08
756.33
759.13
759.13
759.13
98.18
96.47
37. 1.593
1.519
1.260
1.051
1.032
0.998
0.994
0.994
where difficulties are encountered in qperating an equilibri-
um still because of the rapid change of boiling point with
composition in this region. The boiling points of pure
water and n-propanol obtained by extrapolation of the t -
x diagram, after correction to 7 6 0 m m Hg, were 100.03"
and 9 7 . 1 3 " C compared to values of 100.00" and 9 7 . 0 7 "
C
calculated from the Antoine equations of ref. 8. The esti-
mated error on the extrapolated values of the boiling
points is 0.1 "C.
The validity of the results may also be checked by
applying thermodynamic consistency tests to the liquid
phase activity coefficients. The latter were calculated
from the following equation which includes corrections
for vapor phase nonideality:
38. y , = ( y , P / x , P P j exp [ ( B a t - V d ( P - P , " ) / R T ]
(1)
This equation assumes that the vapor phase behaves as
an ideal solution. The reference state for the activity
coefficients is the pure liauid at the temperature and total
pressure of the soiution. The second virial coefficients for
found in the compilation Of Hala et ( 7 ) ' For the pur- water
and n-propanol were taken from the work of Collins pose of
evaluating the performance of the equilibrium still
used in the present investigation we have compared the
data selected by Hala et al. (8) with our results in Figure
and Keyes (') and ( 2 ) 7 respectively~ and the pure
component vapor pressures were calculated from the An-
toine equations given in ref. 8. The maximum value of the
vapor phase correction was 1 . 5 % . The consistency test
was applied by writing the Gibbs-Duhem equation in the
form
4 which is a plot of vapor phase composition against liq-
uid phase composition. The average deviation of the
vapor compositions determined in this work from the
smooth curve of Figure 4 is 0.001. We find, for the
39. azeotropic composition, y2 = x z = 0.433 compared to
values of 0.432 and 0.426 given by Doroshevsky and Po-
lansky (3) and Murti and Van Winkle ( 9 ) . At other com-
positions the agreement is generally good; the largest de-
viations (up to 0.04) occur at low alcohol concentrations
1n(YI/Y2)dxl - l:: j$ ( g ) , d x : - 0 ( 2 )
Figure 5 is a plot of In 73/72 against xl. The area ratio
I A , / A 2 1 obtained by Simpson's rule integration is 0 . 9 7 5
.
t - 0
46 Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol. 18, No. 1,
1973
Table IV. Vapor-Liquid Equillbrium Data for Wator (1) and n-
Propanol (2)-n-Butanol (3)
~~ ~~
Exptl Calcd Eq 7
X 1 x 2 Y1 Yz Y1 Yz AYi AYZ AYJ P, rnrntig t , " C
48. 0.013
1
---
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 OE 1.0
x2
Flgure 4. Equilibrium vapor and liquid compositions for water-
n-propanol at atmospheric pressure
0 this work, A Doroshevsky and Polansky ( 3 ) . Murti and Van
Winkle
(9).
This is satisfactory since the second term of Equation 2
has been neglected. However* this integral may be evalu-
ated using the enthalpies of mixing of Plewes et al. ( 1 1 )
Figure 5. Plot of In ( y ~ / y * ) against XI for water (1)-n-
propanol
(2) at atmospheric DreSSure . .
49. and from values of ( a T / b x l ) p obtained by graphical dif-
ferentiation of the t - x curve. When this is done the
area ratio is increased to a value of 0.995. The corrected
Prediction of Ternary Phase Equilibria
curve cannot be shown with clarity in Figure 5 but the
main differences occur for values of X I 0.2 and > 0.9
because of the high values of ( d T / a x l ) p in these regions.
The closeness of the area ratio to unity confirms the
thermodynamic consistency of our results.
Figure 5 also indicates the high precision of the results
for the water-n-propanol system, as does Figure 6 which
is a plot of the excess Gibbs energy against x 2 .
The results of the measurements on the ternary system
are collected together in Table I V , and are discussed
below.
Jouri w
Recently, Renon and Prausnitz (72) have proposed a
method of evaluating the thermodynamic properties of
multicomponent mixtures from a knowledge only of the
properties of the appropriate binary pairs. The method is
50. particularly suitable for partially miscible systems. We
have therefore applied it to the system water-n-propanol-
n-butanol. According to Renon and Prausnitz the excess
Gibbs free energy of a binary liquid mixture is given by
the following Equation:
G"RT - x l x ~ [ r 2 1 G 2 1 / ( x I + x&)+ rl2GI2/(x2 + x , ~ , ,
) ] ( 3 )
11 of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1973 47
Table V. Parameters of the Equation of Renon and Prausnitr for
Binary Systems of Water ( l ) , n-Propanol (2), and n-Butanol
(3)
Figure 6. Plot of the excess Gibbs free energy against x 2 for
water (1 )-n-propanol (2) at atmospheric pressure
A
I .o
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0
x3 -
51. Figure 7. Projection of the phase diagram for water-n-propa-
nol-n-butanol at 760 mm Hg
-- vapor 3-phase curve, .... liquid 3-phase curves, - tie triangles,
C critical point
where 721 = ( 9 2 1 - g11)/RT, 7 1 2 = (912 - 922)/RT G21
=exp(-a21721), GIZ = e x p ( - a 1 ~ 7 1 ~ ) , a n d a 1 2
=(YZI.
The quantities gi, are interaction energies and cy12 is
the so-called "nonrandomness parameter. " The three in-
dependent parameters of Equation 3 were obtained for
the three binary systems by making a nonlinear least-
squares fit to the excess Gibbs energies, assuming the
parameters to be independent of temperature. The data
for n-propanol-n-butanol and water-n-butanol were those
of Gay ( 4 ) and Smith and Bonner ( 7 3 ) , respectively. The
excess Gibbs energies for the system n-propanol-n-buta-
no1 are much smaller than those of the other two systems
and, within the experimental error, GE is a symmetrical
function of composition. For this system, therefore, the
parameter was taken to be zero when Equation 3
reduces to the second-order Margules equation:
G' = 2 ~ 1 x 2 (gzi - gii) ( 4 )
52. The binary parameters are given in Table V . All of the
48 Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol. 18, No. 1,
0.4 A
0 ai 0.2 0.3 a4 a5
x3 -
Figure 8. Isothermal sections (with tie-lines) of the phase di-
agram for water-n-propanol-n-butanol at 89" and 91 OC
--vapor curves, - liquid curves
systems could be fitted to Equation 3 with root-mean-
square deviations of less than 0.003 in G E / R T .
The binary parameters were then used in Equation 5,
which is the ternary form of the Renon-Prausnitz equa-
tion, to calculate the activity coefficients of the ternary
system and hence bubble point temperatures and vapor
phase compositions at 760 m m Hg:
where Gkk = 1 and 7kk = 0.
The results of the calculations are given in Table I V
53. where the vapor phase compositions are compared with
the experimental values. The agreement is very satisfac-
tory, bearing in mind the limitations of the analytical
method used for obtaining the compositions of n-propanol
and n-butanol.
Equation 5 has also been used to examine the phase
diagram in the vicinity of the liquid-liquid region. I n an at-
tempt to establish the liquid-liquid phase boundary and
tie-lines by searching (graphically) for the compositions
at which the activities of each component were uniform,
it was found that the equilibrium compositions were too
sensitive to small changes in the activity for a reliable
estimate of the binodal curve to be made. Instead, esti-
mates of the binodal curves at temperatures close to the
bubble point were made by extrapolating the liquid-liquid
equilibrium data previously reported ( 70). Liquid-liquid
1973
tie-lines were then obtained by finding the compositions
at which curves of constant activity of n-propanol inter-
54. sected the binodal curve. The resultant liquid and vapor
three-phase curves are shown, in projection, in Figure 7.
The three-phase curves cover a range of boiling points of
only about 3°C.
The system does not form a ternary azeotrope, homo-
geneous or heterogeneous. The vapor and liquid surfaces
are rather flat, however, in the region between the homo-
geneous water-propanol azeotrope and the heterogene-
ous water-butanol azeotrope. This is evident on inspec-
tion of two isothermal sections of the phase diagram at
89" and 91 "C, as shown in Figure 8.
Acknowledgment
We are grateful to G. L. Standart for his encourage-
ment. We are also indebted to F. P. Stainthorp and H. M.
Rash for their guidance in the preparation of the neces-
sary computer programs.
Nomenclature
B i j = second virial coefficient, cm3 m o l - '
GE = excess Gibbs free energy of mixing, J mol
G i j = parameter of Renon-Prausnitz equation
g i j = parameter of Renon-Prausnitz equation
55. H E = excess enthalpy of mixing, J m o l - '
P = total pressure, m m Hg
Pio = pure component vapor pressure, mm Hg
R = gas constant, J K - ' mol-'
T = Kelvin temperature, K
t = Celsius temperature, "C
V E = excess volume of mixing, cm3 mol - 1
x i = liquid phase mole fraction
y t = vapor phase mole fraction
W i = w t %
- 1
Greek Letters
aij = parameter of Renon-Prausnitz equation
T i = liquid phase activity coefficient
7 = refractive index (sodium D-line)
p = density, g ~ m - ~
T i j = parameter of Renon-Prausnitz equation
Subscripts
56. 1 = water
2 = n-propanol
3 = n-butanol
i , j , k , l , r = running variables
Literature Cited
Collins, S. C., Keyes, F. G., Proc. Amer. Acad. Sci., 72, 283
(1938).
Cox, J . D., Trans. FaradaySoc., 57, 1674 (1961).
Doroshevsky, A.. Polansky. E., Z. Phys. Chem.. 73,192 (1910)
Gay, L., Chim. Ind. 18, 187 (1927).
Goodwin. S. R . , Newsham, D. M. T., J. Chem. Thermodyn., 3
, 325
(1971).
Goodwin, S. R . . Newsham, D. M. T., ibid., 4, 31 (1972).
Hala, E., Pick, J., Fried, V., Vilim, O., "Vapour-Liquid
Equilibrium,"
2nd ed., p 404, Pergamon, London, 1967.
Hala, E., Wichterle. I . , Polak, J., Boublik, T., "Vapour-Liquid
Equi-
librium Data at Normal Pressures," Pergamon, London, 1968.
Murti. P. S., Van Winkle, M . , Ind. Eng. Chem., 3, 72 (1958).
Newsham, D. M. T., Ng, S. E., J. Chem. Eng. Data, 17 (2), 205
57. Plewes. A. C., Jardine. D. A., Butler, R. M., Can. J. Technoi..
32,
Renon, H., Prausnitz, J. M., AlChEJ., 14, 135 (1968).
Smith, T. E., Bonner, R. F., Ind. Eng. Chem., 41, 2867 (1949):
Vilim, O., Hala, E., Pick, J., Fried, V.. Collect. Czech. Chem.
Com-
mun., 19, 1330 (1954).
(1972).
133 (1954).
Received for review March 30, 1972. Accepted August 21,
1972. S. B.
Ng received financial support from the British Council.
Integral Isobaric Heat of Vaporization of
Benzene-I ,2=Dichloroethane System
Yaddanapudi Jagannadha Rao and Dabir S. Viswanathl
Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore- 72, India
Integral isobaric heats of vaporization of benzene-l,2-
58. dichloroethane mixtures were measured at pressures of
684 and 760 mm of Hg using a modified Dana's
apparatus. The results were found to be linear with
composition.
Latent heat of vaporization is a very important property
needed in the design and operation of chemical plants.
Several investigators have therefore devised methods for
the determination of this property. Very little data ( 7 , 2,
6-70, 72, 73, 7 5 ) are available on heat of vaporization of
mixtures.
The first published work on latent heats of mixtures
was by Dana (2) who worked at atmospheric pressure
and cryogenic temperatures. Apart from other sources of
error, the main source of error in his experimentation was
' To whom correspondence should be addressed
due to heat leak because of the considerable tempera-
ture gradient between the system and the surroundings.
Subsequently, attempts have been made (6-70, 72, 73)
to minimize the heat leak and reduce other sources of
error involved. The best modification was due to Shettigar
et al. (9) who introduced a liquid meter also to avoid
59. changes in the equilibrium condition of the experiment.
Experimental
Materials. Benzene used was of Pro analysi grade pro-
duced by Sarabhai Merck Ltd., India, with a reported
boiling range of 80-81°C. This material was subjected to
the thiophene test. Thiophene was removed by treating it
with concentrated sulfuric acid and distilling i t after sepa-
ration and washing it with distilled water. Benzene then
was dried over calcium chloride, filtered, and further puri-
fied in a distillation column. Only the middle fractions of
the distillate were collected. Table I gives a comparison
of the experimentally determined physical properties with
the literature values.
Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol. 18, No. 1, 1973
49
GUIDE FOR THE PREPARATION OF REPORTS
60. This guide for the writing of laboratory reports is intended to
help you write your reports
and to understand the criticisms of them made by your
instructors. You should study
this guide before writing each report, review it before turning in
each report, and use it to
help interpret the criticism on reports returned to you.
You write reports in this course not only to explain the
experiments performed
and what you learned from them, but also to learn, under the
guidance of you
instructors, something about the kind of writing you will be
expected to do as an
engineer.
Engineers write many kinds of reports. Some of these, perhaps
most, may be
called routine reports, involving the filling in of blanks in a
report sheet, or the supplying
of tables, graphs, or drawings, with perhaps only a few
sentences of explanation here
and there. The routine report is read by those are closely
familiar with the writer’s
work. They know what to look for and want facts quickly;
61. hence elaborate introductions,
transitions, and explanations are usually unnecessary in this
kind of report. We are not
concerned with the preparation of the routine reports in this
course.
The second kind of report written by engineers and usually the
most difficult to
prepare may be called the special report on a project. This is
the kind of report we ask
you to write in this course. The special report must be fully
developed and completely
self-sufficient. It must be intelligible to a number of readers,
most of whom are not
specialists in the subject of investigation, and who may know
nothing about the writer
and what was done except for what the report itself tells them.
And it should be just as
clear to a reader ten years later as it was on the day it was first
submitted.
Thus the special report must be
COMPLETE - It must give all the facts necessary for an
understanding of the problem,
62. the method of investigation, the results obtained, and the
significance of these results.
And it must be
QUIETLY PERSUASIVE - Without sounding like a speech in a
political debate, it must
convince the reader by its form, content, and style that the
writer is a
competent engineer who knows that the facts and conclusions
presented are both
accurate and important.
To meet these requirements of complete communication, your
reports must
make extensive and effective use of words. They will, of
course, also contain graphs
drawings, tables and mathematical demonstrations (and these
must be well prepared in
all respects); but the reports must use words to introduce,
qualify, and interpret the facts
presented and to keep the reader moving smoothly from point to
point. The words must
weave the various parts of the report into a single, coherent
whole, so that the report
can take readers in hand at the beginning and guide them
63. through the mass of detail
assembled during the course of an investigation.
Success in your career may depend on your ability to write
successful
reports. This is why we ask you to practice writing special
reports in this course and
why they are carefully reviewed by your instructor.
In reading and grading your reports, your instructor will
consider three major areas of
your report writing ability:
A. Presentation 30%
B. Exposition and Execution 30%
C. Technical Competence 40%
On the last page of this guide we expand on each of these and
state explicitly
what we are looking for in your reports. Note that 60% of the
64. grade is based on matters
which, superficially, are non-technical. A closer look, however,
reveals that almost all of
the items under A and some under B require, for a competent
job, a clear conception of
the technical aspects of the problem. You must perceive what is
important about your
study to properly organize your report. Your perception of the
problem must be so clear
that you are able to select the proper words, define physical
quantities with precision,
and clearly state significant interpretations of your
observations.
Note also our heavy demand for good judgment. You must take
care that your
recommendations on technical matters are responsible and
sound. Further,
considerable judgment is required in selecting from among the
many items of apparent
importance those that are significant and meaningful to the
reader. For example, after
struggling with and finally overcoming certain experimental
difficulties, you may feel a
compelling desire to relate these important matters to the
65. reader. Indeed, these matters
are crucial to the success of your experiment, but readers are
seldom interested in a
blow-by-blow account. They assume you have removed all
serious deficiencies and
that you are now reporting on the finished work.
A good way to test a report before handing it in is to read it
aloud. Often the
ear will catch mistakes, weaknesses, or inconsistencies, which
the eye has missed. If
your report meets the qualifications briefly outlined above, it
should sound like a
consistent piece of work from beginning to end.
Finally, reports are graded at their face value. A separate grade
is given for
you performance in the laboratory. We will assess your
laboratory performance by
watching to see that you, 1) have perspective on our job and can
tell which are the more
important parts of it, 2) plan skillfully, budgeting your time to
get the most important
parts done in the time limitations inevitably present in any job,
3) apply technical skills
66. properly, and 4) work well with your colleagues and your
supervisor.
The next section of this guide describes in detail the major parts
of a typical
report. Several features, such as the abstract, summary,
conclusions, nomenclature
and references will appear in virtually all reports. However,
other major sections should
be given descriptive titles, which will be informative to the
reader scanning your table of
contents. You should not pour the contents of your study into a
rigid format, but rather
consider each report on its own and devise the best format for
its presentation.
Reports are to be typewritten (double-spaced) or neatly penned
in ink. Please
don’t skimp on paper; allow adequate margins for binding
purposes. Fasten your report
together securely with brads. Begin each major section on a
new page. Number your
pages.
67. MAJOR SECTIONS OF LABORATORY REPORTS:
THEIR ARRANGEMENT AND PURPOSE
Title Page
On a separate page indicate the following information:
a) Title of the report;
b) Name of the person submitting it and names of
co-workers;
c) Name of school, department and course for which
the report is
submitted;
68. d) Name of person or persons to whom the report is
submitted;
e) Date.
Abstract
In 3 or 4 uninvolved sentences of moderate length state;
a) What was done and with what objectives;
b) Your major results and principal conclusions.
Detail must be omitted, but mention must be made of the key
features of your
work. From this readers will know whether the material
contained in the remainder of
the report is of interest or usefulness to them in their work. The
abstract must be written
69. to stand alone. Write it last.
Table of Contents
List the headings of the important parts of the report and the
page numbers on
which they may be found. This list serves as an outline of the
report. Include all
headings and subheadings used in the report with wording
identical to that used in the
report itself. As with an outline, be sure that the headings and
subheadings are logically
parallel and arranged symmetrically on the page. List all the
tables and figures in a
separate list headed “Tables and Figures.” Identify each table
and figure by number
and specific title, and list the page number on which each can
be found.
Summary
The Summary presents in highly condensed form (one page or
less) the essentials of
70. the entire report: your objectives, what you did, and your
significant findings. The
Summary differs from the Abstract mainly in the amount of
detail on the latter two
points. In industry the Summary is often the only part of a
report read by some
readers. Thus it must be written to stand alone, without
reference to any other section
of the report, just as if it were a separate, miniature report in
itself. The Summary
should be written after completing the body of the report.
You must exercise judgment in composing the Summary to
include only
important and relevant information. Avoid trivia. You needn’t
include minute details of
your experimental technique, unless there is something
exceptionally novel about
it. Readers will assume you have properly performed the
experiment, used suitable
methods of measurement and analysis, used a sufficient number
of runs, made proper
calculations, etc. Such details are more properly included in
other sections of the
report, not in the Summary.
71. In reporting results in the Summary it is helpful to state the
order of magnitude
including units and observed trends. Indicate also whether or
not your experimental
results agree with the results of some theory or with established
correlation. If your
results are in disagreement, you might state briefly the reasons
for the
disagreement. Incidentally, it goes almost without saying that
you should compare your
results with published results whenever possible. You need not
make a major point of
this when stating your objectives; it is understood that you will
make these comparisons.
It is important to include in your Summary a statement of your
significant
conclusions. A summary without a statement of conclusions
lacks a “punch line.” Be
selective in this regard. Seek valid generalizations without
overgeneralizing. Above all,
be honest. If your experiment proceeded badly and permitted
no firm conclusions, so
state.
72. The next sections constitute the body or detailed report. These
sections are
for the reader who wishes to follow your investigation point by
point.
Introduction
A clear introduction is the key to a good report. It not only
presents the essential facts
about the purpose of the experiment, but also sets the tone and
point of view of the
entire report. It is the real beginning of the report proper; it
should, therefore, identify
the experiment and give a full explanation of its specific aims.
It should suggest to
readers by its tone and style that they are now to be guided
through a detailed report.
Try to state the purpose of the work in logically complete units
of thought. That
is, do not say, “The purpose of this study was…Another purpose
was…Also, the values
were to be…” If you cannot state all the purposes in one
sentence, begin with a general
statement that covers the entire purpose, and then go on to
73. details, or begin with a
general statement of the chief purpose, and then go to secondary
purposes. In
subsequent sections (Results, Discussion, and Conclusions)
refer to these topics in the
same order in which they appear in the Introduction. Note that
all projects in this course
are designed to teach you something and to help you become
familiar with the
operation of equipment. This generation purpose is assumed; do
not mention it in the
statement of the problem. Instead, explain the specific aims of
the work. Such a
discussion should give readers a firm grasp of what you are
about to lay before
them. Specifically, you should consider relating your study to
other possible studies in
the same area. Tell your reader how your study fits in among
the many that might be
made.
In this course you may assume that your audience is composed
74. of people who
are technically trained. They will know, for example, the
definition of a heat transfer
coefficient, the log mean temperature driving force and, indeed,
the limitations of such
approaches. It is, therefore, out of place for you to attempt to
tell the reader how
important packed-tower absorption is to the chemical industry
and your fellow
man. Your reader already appreciates such matters. Neither is
your reader interested
in the recital of separation processes, for example, which might
be used as alternatives
to the distillation process you happen to be studying.
Remember that you are not
writing (nor, hopefully, copying) a textbook. Your report has a
far more specific goal
and straying from this goal will tend to bore the reader.
Finally, this section of the report should outline briefly your
approach to the
problem. You should preview for readers how you are about to
lead them through the
many pathways in pursuit of your goals.
75. We might reflect a moment on our progress at this point. The
first three
sections of the report each contain information, which, on first
glance, may appear to be
identical in all three sections. Granted, there is a high
redundancy; we purposely
recommend this because the Abstract and Summary are often
read separated from the
report. The Introduction, while it retreads much of the ground
already covered in the
Summary, is nevertheless quite distinct and makes important
advances into the
reporting of your work. It presents a philosophy, an approach,
and an insight. The
Summary, which must be factual, cannot easily take on these
qualities. All three
sections are necessary and must be skillfully composed to
prepare the reader
adequately for the remainder of the report.
Experimental Design, Apparatus and Procedure
The reader will be interested to learn how you have linked the
treatment of the problem
discussed in the preceding section to the real world. Your
choice of the type of
76. experiment, the variables considered, their ranges, etc., was, of
course, determined
long before performing the experiment; it is now simply a
matter of justifying your
decisions in writing. In this discussion you should be careful to
relate your
considerations in terms of basic variables, not laboratory
variables. For example, quote
values of Reynolds numbers rather than flow rate. The latter
will have no meaning to
the reader. It is desirable to summarize the results of your
deliberations on the design
of the experiment by stating what ‘runs’ were actually made.
This might be
accomplished conveniently in the form of a table or diagram.
Even though you may have mentioned certain features of the
apparatus in
previous sections of the report, you should give here a
description of all the essential
details of the apparatus. In describing apparatus move from the
general to the
particular; i.e., give the reader first a general description or
explanation before going into
details. Describe major equipment first; mention minor pieces
77. of equipment at the
end. You need not include stock items such as stopwatches and
buckets. Secondary
details such as tabulation of dimensions or properties of fluids
used might be appended
if such information is judged necessary for the report. You
might be assisted in this
discussion by referring to a diagram of the apparatus or some
part of it. Diagrams
neatly drawn in either pencil or ink are acceptable. Refer to
diagrams by figure
numbers; put them immediately following the place where they
are first referred to. A
schematic block-flow diagram is preferable to a drawing, which
attempts photographic
accuracy.
Like the description of apparatus, the explanation of procedure
should be
sufficiently detailed to enable the reader to judge the adequacy
of your approach to the
problem. In general this means that readers should be able to
78. duplicate your procedure
at some future time. You should not, however, go into elaborate
details involving routine
operations of equipment. Your readers are not interested in a
blow-by-blow historical
recounting of what happened in the laboratory the day you
performed the
experiment. Rather, they are concerned about the aspects of
your experimental
procedure that are not self-evident. For example, how did you
measure the height of
liquid on the bubble tray and what criterion did you use to
establish the condition of
flooding in the packed column?
Calculation Procedures
The purpose of this section of the report is to outline for the
reader the basic principles
employed and the manner in which they are combined to
achieve you objectives. This
section is the bridge that shows how the data collected (as
described in the Procedure
section) leads to the results presented in subsequent sections.
For example, by
employing a heat balance, you might develop an expression for
79. the condensing film
coefficient for heat transfer (which can’t be measured directly)
in terms of the measured
condensate flow rate and cooling water temperatures. It is good
practice to tell the
reader in a few sentences what relationships you are about to
develop in this
section. Be sure to indicate and comment on the significance of
your derived
results. Otherwise, the reader is likely to pass by them unaware
of their utility.
Sometimes the relationships you discuss here are so well known
that no
derivation is required (e.g., the over-all heat transfer coefficient
in terms of individual
resistances or the log-mean temperature difference). Usually,
however, some
development is necessary. In presenting these, it is best to
outline the derivations only,
stating such equations as you think necessary for the reader’s
understanding. Of
course, you should give adequate documentation of your sources
of information. This is
the place also to state any assumptions. It is quite easy, then, to
80. point to possible
limitations of your development and deviations of your derived
results from the real
situation.
Use a separate line for equations. Unless you are an
accomplished typist, it is
probably best to pen equations by hand. You might number
certain equations for ease
in referring to them in the text.
Results
This section presents the final results of the experiment. It
usually will contain one or
more clear, readable tables and all important graphs. You must
use some judgment
here in deciding how much detail to present. The primary goal
of this section is to
inform the reader of the basic behavior of your apparatus or the
fundamental nature of
the phenomenon under observation. Raw, unreduced data are
not “results.” If you feel
detailed tabulations are necessary, put them in the Appendix.
81. It is much easier to see trends in results if you use graphs rather
than tables. Graphical
comparison of your results with published correlations plotted
on the same sheet of
graph paper is an effective way to show agreement or
disagreement. Be sure that each
table and figure has a caption consisting of its number and title.
Label all coordinates of
graphs in precise unambiguous words or symbols and state
units. Use a reasonable
number of digits in the numbers in tables; use of too many
digits obscures the
significance. It may be useful to show the limits of uncertainty
for a few entries in tables
and graphs to give the reader an estimate of the significance of
the results.
To preserve continuity in your report, do not allow this section
to stand alone
simply as a group of table and graphs. Your purpose is to guide
readers through the
report; you should not abandon them now. You must comment
on you results as they
82. are presented, but this comment must be short of elaboration
and interpretation. To
effectively communicate your results to readers, you must tell
them in words what they
are viewing. State, for example, that the plot shows a linear
increase of A with B, or
note that the heat flux reaches maximum of 500, 000 But/hr ft2
at a T of 50 oC, or point
out that your experimental results lie within 25% of Leva’s
correlation plotted in Figure 3,
and so on.
Discussion of Results
This section and the preceding one form the heart of the report.
Everything you have
done and discovered has led step by step to this section. Now
you must explain to the
reader what your results are and what they mean. Naturally the
prime interest will be in
the most important results and you should elaborate on this
first. Your readers are
interested in reading how you interpret your results in a light of
the physical and
chemical phenomena at play. They will not be interested in a
run-by-run account of why
83. the results of Run 3 are high. Instead they expect you to
discuss any abnormal
behavior, to explain why your results failed to show well
established or expected effects,
and to indicate how well your results compare with the
published results of others.
In this section, you should also discuss the uncertainty in the
results. You
should point out the probable sources of error and estimate their
magnitudes. At this
point in the report you should mention only the one or two
variables, which contribute
the most to the uncertainty and how these uncertainties affect
the validity of your final
results and conclusions. Be sure that the trends you note in the
results and the
differences from theory you mention are significant (i.e., larger
than the
uncertainty). You may also want to discuss shortcomings either
in the design of the
apparatus or in your performance of the experiment, which
could have adversely
affected your results.
84. Finally, the reader would like to have your recommendations
concerning the
application of your results. You might outline how the reader
could apply your
information to solve some specific problems. You should also
give your opinion
concerning the ranges over which your results may be
extrapolated safely.
The importance of a balanced discussion of results cannot be
overemphasized. Remember that your readers have not “lived”
with the results as
closely as you have; facts that seem painfully obvious to you
may not be obvious to
them at all. Your first job is to point them out to him. If you
were giving a talk, you
would point to the tables and graphs and explain what they
mean, and that is exactly
what you should do here. Don’t jump into details until you are
sure that readers see the
broad trends.
85. Conclusions
You, as the planner, experimenter, and writer, are probably one
of the persons most
qualified to draw conclusions from your work. Even though
certain conclusions may
seem to you to be so obvious that they should be grasped
immediately by the reader,
you should nevertheless set down here explicit and
unambiguous statements of the
major conclusions that you have reached in the discussion
section. Readers familiar
with your area of study often turn directly to your statement of
conclusions; for them, this
section often conveys more information than the Abstract or
Summary. For the reader
of the full report, this section should restate in one location the
several conclusions
possibly already developed but scattered elsewhere earlier in
the report.
Statements in this section require careful judgment. There may
be many
conclusions that can be drawn; you are to judge which of these
are significant enough
to be mentioned and which should be mentioned first. Poor
86. judgment is demonstrated
in concluding, for example, that the experiment was a success
because the data plotted
smoothly on semi-log paper. Further, take care to distinguish
conclusions from a mere
restatement of your experimental results. For example, your
experimental results may
have indicated that the Fanning friction factor varies with the
Reynolds number raised to
the (-0.2) power. But a fact many times more important is that
the Reynolds number is
indeed the only fundamental independent variable (aside from
the roughness factor)
upon which the friction factor depends. This is an example of a
conclusion so obvious
that one would hardly consider making the statement, yet to the
reader it is not always
so obvious. If your work had actually demonstrated this point,
then the latter statement
should constitute your conclusion. You might add for
completeness that the friction
factor varies with the Reynolds number raised to the (-0.2)
power.
Above all, be scrupulously honest in all your statements. This
87. is often more
difficult than it would first appear. Sometimes there are no
significant conclusions
because of failure to obtain reliable measurements. In such
instances, do not generate
fictitious conclusions; rather glean from your experiment only
those results and
conclusions which you think sound. In other cases, you may be
unaware that your
conclusions are not really justified. For example, in the friction
factor study referred to
above, you would not be justified in concluding that the
Reynolds number was the only
independent variable had you varied only the flow rate of water
through a ½-inch
pipe. You may have been so accustomed to using the Reynolds
number in place of
flow rate as the independent variable that you may have
forgotten that pipe diameter
and fluid viscosity must also be varied to adequately test your
conjecture. Examine
your statements closely for such overgeneralizations.
Appendix
This section is used as a repository for any details that you
88. think necessary for the
completeness of the report. For this course, we ask that you
include at least the
following two sections:
a) A complete set of sample calculations (these may be
neatly lettered in ink)
b) The original data sheets (not recopied from the
original)
Other details such as tabulation of dimensions of the apparatus,
calibration curves and
details of the derivation of equations might be included if
judged necessary. We
comment below on the sample calculations.
Sample calculations are to be included for the purpose of
displaying in a clear
unambiguous manner you route to the numerical results that are
quoted in the
89. report. Actual numerical values of quantities, taken from one of
your experiments, are
to be substituted into whatever equations apply and the
numerical result stated.
To do a good job at this, you need to prepare a well-organized,
logical structure
that considers the reader’s unfamiliarity with some of your
techniques. It is suggested
that you use descriptive subheadings to announce the
calculations you are about to
describe. Before launching into the calculation, state in a few
sentences what you
intend to calculate (and, if necessary, why) and what physical
principles are to be
employed. Even though you may have treated these matters in
an earlier section, a
brief recollection at this point is appreciated by the reader.
Then quote the equation to
be used. If you have discussed this particular relationship
earlier in the report, you need
only refer to that discussion and may pass on directly to the
substitution of numerical
values. If you have not previously discussed the relationship,
this is the place to do so.
90. It is further suggested that calculations of the most important
quantities
precede those of less importance. If possible place calculations
of modified Reynolds
numbers, void fraction, particle density, and other such minor
calculations at the end.
Nomenclature
In technical writing, it is usually most convenient to define in
one place in all symbols
and notation used throughout the report even though these
symbols will have been
defined in the text at the point where they were first introduced.
The common practice
is to list in alphabetical order all symbols used in the report
with a descriptive definition
of their meaning or interpretation including statement of units
used. It is adequate to
merely state that hO is a heat transfer coefficient for condensing
vapors based on the
outside area of tubes, Btu/hr ft2 oF.
You may view our request that you include this section as an
unjustified and
unnecessary demand on your time. Granted that the
91. alphabetical arrangement is
tedious; however, the necessity to make definite and precise
definitions of terms is good
practice and often is instrumental in uncovering errors.
References
Another common and convenient practice is to list at the end of
the report all
established literature specifically referred to in the text. Note
this is not a bibliography of
literature that you looked at in preparation for your study, but
rather specific citations
made in the text of your written report. Normally, a number
identifies each
reference. You may refer to individual references in the body
of the simply by stating
the reference identification number in parenthesis. For
example, “…as shown by the
Miller and Michels correlation (7).” All references should be
arranged in alphabetical
order, based upon the name of the first author mentioned. The
following are some
92. examples of good form.
Journal Article
I.A. Wishe and E.B. Bagley, Thermodynamic Properties of