Mass Balance Fundamentals
- Introduction to Mass Balances
- Steps to Modelling
- What is Extend of Reaction
Core chemical engineering · Years 1–2
Mass & Energy Balances for chemical engineers
A course on mass and energy balances, covering reacting systems, enthalpy, process modelling, recycle and purge, and multi-stage systems.
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- 56
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No card needed. Every lesson is open on every plan.
The subject
What Mass & Energy Balances covers
This course develops the core skills of mass and energy balances that underpin chemical process analysis. It begins with the general mass balance and the law of mass conservation, then covers reacting systems including stoichiometry, excess and limiting reactants, fractional conversion, chemical equilibrium, and selectivity and yield. Energy balances are introduced alongside the forms of energy, enthalpy, specific heat capacity, latent heat and heat of reaction, with practical use of steam tables and enthalpy-concentration charts. The course then moves into process modelling, covering the steps to building a model, the reasons for recycle and purge streams, energy balances including reactions, and the extent of reaction, before concluding with single-stage and counter-current multi-stage equilibrium systems and an analytical solution for dilute systems.
What you’ll be able to do
- State the general mass balance relating material entering and leaving
- Define stoichiometry as the quantified relationship between reactants and products
- Distinguish kinetic and potential energy as the two main categories
- Explain how a steam table presents properties of water
- State the main reasons for including a recycle stream in a process
- State the law of mass conservation underlying all mass balances
The lessons
Every lesson, theme by theme
23 lessons in 6 themes, pitched at Years 1–2. Your year decides what comes first, never what you can open.
Reacting Systems
- Reacting System - Stoichiometry
- Reacting systems - Excess and Limiting Reactants
- Reacting systems - Chemical Equilibrium
- Reacting systems - Selectivity & Yield
- Heat of Reaction
Energy Balances
- Types of Energy
- Defining Enthalpy
- Defining Latent Heat
- Energy Balance Including Reactions
Steam & Property Tables
- How to use a Steam Table
Recycle & Multi-Stage
- Why use a Recycle
- Counter-Current Multi-Stage
- Analytical Solution for Dilute Systems
More in Mass & Energy Balances
- Types of Mass Balances
- Reacting systems - Fractional Conversion
- Introduction to Energy Balances
- Specific Heat Capacity Formulas
- How to Read Enthalpy Charts
- Why use a Purge
- Single Stage Equilibrium Gas-Liquid System
Before you start
What it builds on
How you’ll learn it
Mass & Energy Balances, at your pace
Video lessons
23 lessons and 31 videos, each with what you’ll be able to do by the end.
Practice, marked as you go
56 practice questions, marked the moment you answer, with hints when you’re stuck. Step-by-step worked solutions come with Core.
CERA, when it doesn’t click
Ask CERA to explain any idea in Mass & Energy Balances another way, or to test you on it. Every day, on every plan.
Keep exploring
See every subjectDimensional Analysis
An introduction to dimensional analysis, covering fundamental dimensions, dimensionless groups and the Buckingham Pi method.
Thermodynamics
A comprehensive grounding in thermodynamic principles and cycles, covering energy, efficiency, the ideal gas law and the OTTO, Diesel, Brayton, Carnot and Rankine cycles.
Fluid Dynamics
A study of the properties and behaviour of fluids, covering fluid statics and dynamics, laminar and turbulent flow regimes, and Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid modelling.
Heat Transfer
A comprehensive heat transfer course spanning conduction, convection and radiation, Nusselt analysis, pinch technology heat integration, nodal networks and thermal food systems.
Ready when you are
Build a plan around exactly where you’re stuck
Tell us where you are and get a pathway with your first lesson, your first practice set and a weekly study target. You won’t need an account until you want to keep it.