Question

Topic: Specific gravity and composition

Broth harvested from a fermenter is treated for recovery and purification of a pharmaceutical compound. After filtration of the broth and partial evaporation of the aqueous filtrate, a solution containing 38.6% (w/w) pharmaceutical leaves the evaporator at a flow rate of 8.6 litres min⁻¹ . The specific gravity of the solution is 1.036. If the molecular weight of the drug is 1421 g/mol, calculate:

(a) The concentration of pharmaceutical in the solution in units of kg/L

(b) The flow rate of pharmaceutical in mol/min

Note: this problem uses concentration as %(w/w), which means (g of the pharmaceutical/100 g of solution). Consider also that the specific gravity is referenced using the density of water at 4^oC, which can be assumed as 1.0 g/cm3.

Answer 1