Each month the Speedy Dry Cleaning Company buys one barrel (0.160 m3)
of dry cleaning fluid. Ninety percent of the fluid is lost to the atmosphere and 10%
remains as residue to be disposed of. The density of the dry cleaning fluid is 1.5940
g/mL. Draw a mass-balance diagram and estimate the monthly mass emission rate to
the atmosphere (in kilograms per month).
Alright, I'll help you out. Give me a minute to think about this.
To estimate the monthly mass emission rate to the atmosphere, we need to calculate the mass of dry cleaning fluid lost.
First, let's calculate the volume of dry cleaning fluid lost to the atmosphere. We know that 90% of the fluid is lost, so:
Volume lost = 0.9 * 0.160 m^3 = 0.144 m^3
Next, let's determine the mass of the dry cleaning fluid lost. We can use the density of the fluid to do this. The density is given as 1.5940 g/mL, so:
Mass lost = Volume lost * density
Mass lost = 0.144 m^3 * 1,594 g/mL
However, we need to convert the density from grams per milliliter (g/mL) to kilograms per liter (kg/L) for consistency.
1 g/mL = 1 kg/L
Therefore, the mass lost is:
Mass lost = 0.144 m^3 * 1594 kg/L
Now, let's calculate the monthly mass emission rate to the atmosphere by multiplying the mass lost by the number of barrels purchased per month. We know that one barrel is purchased each month, so:
Monthly mass emission rate = Mass lost * 1
Finally, we can convert the units from kg/L to kg/month:
Monthly mass emission rate = Mass lost * 1 / L * (1 L / 1000 mL) * (1000 mL / 1 month)
Monthly mass emission rate = Mass lost / 1000 kg/month
Plug in the value of Mass lost into the equation to get the estimated monthly mass emission rate to the atmosphere in kilograms per month.