... of n-butane in air must be below its lower explosion limit of 1.7 mol %. Basic Flowsheet The basic flowsheet to be considered is as follows: Figure 2: Basic Flowsheet Design Equation [1] shows that selectivity decreases with conversion, which suggests that the optimal reactor may operate at a low conversion. A low conversion would mean there is a fair amount of n-butane in the product stream, which is why the recycle stream is added. Since one of the main design choices is the conversion in the reactor, an estimation of how costs vary with conversion will be calculated to help in making this decision. The costs will be of the raw materials (butane feed) and utility costs. Utilities include steam, cooling water and electricity. The income for the process will come from the sale of the maleic anhydride product and steam, which is generated from excess heat. Balance over Reactor The product and reactant ...

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