An adiabatic membrane separation unit is used to dry (remove water vapor from)
a gas mixture containing 10.0 mole \(\% \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}(\mathrm{v}),
10.0\) mole \(\% \mathrm{CO},\) and the balance \(\mathrm{CO}_{2} .\) The gas
enters the unit at \(30^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) and flows past a semipermeable
membrane. Water vapor permeates through the membrane into an air stream. The
dried gas leaves the separator at \(30^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) containing \(2.0
\mathrm{mole} \% \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}(\mathrm{v})\) and the balance
\(\mathrm{CO}\) and \(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\). Air enters the separator at \(50^{\circ}
\mathrm{C}\) with an absolute humidity of \(0.002 \mathrm{kg} \mathrm{H}_{2}
\mathrm{O} / \mathrm{kg}\) dry air and leaves at \(48^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\).
Negligible quantities of \(\mathrm{CO}, \mathrm{CO}_{2}, \mathrm{O}_{2},\) and
\(\mathrm{N}_{2}\) permeate through the membrane. All gas streams are at
approximately 1 atm.
(a) Draw and label a flowchart of the process and carry out a degree of
freedom analysis to verify that you can determine all unknown quantities on
the chart.
(b) Calculate (i) the ratio of entering air to entering gas (kg humid air/mol
gas) and (ii) the relative humidity of the exiting air.
(c) List several desirable properties of the membrane. (Think about more than
just what it allows and does not allow to permeate.)