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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Process Fundamentals and Balances

Recycle stream

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In chemical engineering, recycle stream means: A stream that takes unreacted material or a process fluid from a later point in the process and sends it back to an earlier point, so that it is not wasted.

In Turkish: geri döngü akımı, geri çevrim akımı, recycle akımı

How it is used

Common when per-pass conversion is low. Engineers must include recycle streams in the mass balance and often add a purge stream so that inerts and impurities do not build up. 'Recycle' is also used alone as a noun and verb.

Example sentences

  1. Argon builds up in the recycle stream, so we purge a small part of it continuously.

  2. Without the recycle stream, almost 80% of the hydrogen would be lost.

Common collocations

  • recycle loop
  • recycle ratio
  • purge stream
  • recycle compressor
  • mass balanceA calculation based on the rule that mass is not created or destroyed: everything that goes into a system must come out, react or build up inside it.
  • conversionThe fraction of a reactant that has reacted, usually given as a percentage of the amount fed to the reactor.
  • purgeTo clear a vessel or pipe of air, flammable gas or toxic material by flushing it with an inert gas such as nitrogen, or with steam, before opening it or starting it up.
  • feedThe material that enters a unit or a plant to be processed, such as crude oil to a refinery or the liquid stream entering a column.

More terms: Process Fundamentals and Balances

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