ABSTRACT

The objective of liquid diffusion experiment was to determine the diffusivity of sodium
chloride solution in distilled water. This experiment was also conducted to determine the
conductivity of the solution when sodium chloride solution (NaCl) was diffused into the distilled
water. The graph of conductivity against time was plotted to get the rate of diffusion.
Liquid diffusion coefficient apparatus was used to determine the conductivity value when
the NaCl solution was diffused into distilled water. The diffusion vessel was filled with
approximately 1.2 L of distilled water. Next, the conductivity probe BNC connector was
connected to the diffusion vessel to determine the conductivity values and the magnetic stirrer
was also connected to increase the rate of diffusion. Two concentrations of NaCl were used for
this experiment which was 1 M and 4 M. The NaCl solution was added in capillary tube and then
was immersed into the distilled water right below the water level surface. Then, the conductivity
meter was switched on to calculate the conductivity values of the solution. Based on this
experiment, the results showed that at 4 M NaCl solution, the conductivity of the solution was
increased by time. The conductivity value was started with 37.3 s then ended with 95.7 s in 40
minute. For 1 M NaCl solution, the result was also increased by time. The conductivity was
started with the value of 34.9 s and ended with the value of 54.3 s. The slope gradient for 4 M
NaCl solution was higher than the slope gradient for 1 M NaCl solution, thus the diffusivity
value was higher for 4 M NaCl solution which was 3.045 x 10 m/min while for 1M has value
1.218 x 10 m/min. The increasing conductivity by time proved that the hypothesis was
accepted in which the longer the time, the higher the conductivity. Next, the result for calculation
of rate of diffusivity proved that the higher the concentration, the higher the rate of diffusion.
Automatically, the diffusivity of the solution was higher with higher concentration of the
solution.








TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 1
TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................................................ 2
1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3
2.0 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................... 3
3.0 THEORY ................................................................................................................................................ 4
4.0 DESCRIPTIONS OF APPARATUS ...................................................................................................... 5
5.0 PROCEDURES....................................................................................................................................... 6
5.1OPERATING PROCEDURE .............................................................................................................. 6
5.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE ..................................................................................................... 7
6.0 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 8
6.1 DISCUSSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 9
7.0 SAMPLE CALCULATIONS ............................................................................................................... 11
8.0 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................... 12
10.0 RECOMMEDATIONS ................................................................................................................... 13
11.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 13
12.0 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................... 14









1.0 INTRODUCTION
The processes involved in chemical engineering field are divided by two; mass transfer
and heat transfer. Yet problems in this field are often lie in mass transfer field. By mass transfer
is meant the tendency of a component in a mixture to travel from a region of high concentration
to one of low concentration [1]. By this definition, liquid diffusion is one of the mass transfer
processes as a component(s) is diffused from high concentration to low concentration. Diffusion
process is usually applied in liquid-liquid extraction, gas absorption, distillation process and
others. There are two types of diffusion; equimolar counterdiffusion and diffusion of a
component through a stagnant, nondiffusing component. In this experiment, equimolar
counterdiffusion is applied in which NaCl solution with two different concentrations is diffused
into distilled water.
The SOLTEQ Liquid Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus (Model: BP 09) is the apparatus
used in this experiment to determine the diffusivity of NaCl in distilled water. This experiment is
done twice with two different concentrations of NaCl solution. The NaCl solution is placed in the
diffusion cell, which is then immersed right below the distilled water surface. A magnetic stirrer
and a conductivity meter are provided to determine the conductivity value. The diffusivity value
is not calculated directly from this experiment, yet it will be evaluated based on the conductivity
value. A graph of conductivity value against time is used to determine the diffusivity of NaCl in
distilled water.

2.0 OBJECTIVES
This experiment is conducted to evaluate the value of diffusivity of sodium chloride. It is done
by using two different concentrations of sodium chloride solution to observe the difference in
diffusivity value. The diffusivity value can be calculated using the slope of the graph of
conductivity value against time and the formula given.

3.0 THEORY
As stated in the introduction before, diffusion process are divided into two types;
equimolar counterdiffusion and diffusion of a component through a stagnant, nondiffusing
component. Different formulas are used to determine the diffusivity value for both cases. For
equimolar counterdiffusion which is conducted in this experiment, the formula used is

where J is the diffusion rate, D is the value of diffusivity and dC/dx is the concentration gradient.
The negative sign in the formula indicates that the flow is from high concentration to low
concentration. During the experiment, the concentration at the lower ends is taken to be constant
and the concentration at the top end is zero. Thus,

in which V is the volume of distilled water in diffusion vessel, M is molar concentration of the
solution, C is conductivity change per unit molar concentration change and x, d and N is the
length of capillaries, the diameter of capillaries and the number of capillaries respectively. The
value of conductivity change per unit molar concentration, C, is 4.1 x 10 S.L/mol. Then the
slope gained from the graph can be used to evaluate the diffusivity value.

4.0 DESCRIPTIONS OF APPARATUS

















Diagram 1: Liquid Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus
Diffusion Cell
Capillaries
Diffusion
Vessel
Conductivity
Probe
Stirrer Bar
Magnetic Stirrer
Conductivity
Meter
The SOLTEQ Liquid Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus (Model: BP 09) is used to determine the
diffusivity of NaCl solution in distilled water. A known concentration of NaCl solution is placed
in a diffusion cell, which is then immersed in distilled water. A magnetic stirrer and a
conductivity meter are provided to monitor the progress of the diffusion process over time. A
plot of conductivity value against time will allow for the determination of the liquid diffusivity.

5.0 PROCEDURES
5.1OPERATING PROCEDURE
General Start-up procedures
1. The diffusion vessel was filled with approximate 1.2 liter of distilled water. The
conductivity probe protector was ensured that there was no air trap inside it.
2. The conductivity probe BNC connector was connected into the socket on the conductivity
meter. The mini phono jack of temperature sensor was inserted into the socket on the
conductivity meter.
3. The magnetic stirrer mains cable was plugged to the electrical supply. The voltage of the
supply was ensured that it was correctly suit the equipment.
4. The ON button on the conductivity meter was pressed.
5. The magnetic stirrer was switched on and the speed knob had been set to 500 rpm.
6. The conductivity value was taken. The distilled water gave a very low reading.
7. The equipment was ready for student experiment.
General Shut-down Procedure
1. The magnetic stirrer and conductivity meter were switched off.
2. Both the BNC connector and the mini phono jack from the conductivity meter were
disconnected.
3. The solution in the diffusion vessel and cell was drained.
4. The diffusion vessel and cell was rinsed.

5.2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
1. The start-up procedure was performed.
2. The type of NaCl concentration had been given by the instructor to be used in the
experiment.
3. The diffusion cell was filled with the solution prepared in step 2. The capillary tubes were
ensured to be in place. The cell was completely filled and excess solution was wiped off
to ensure that there was no air trap inside the capillary tube.
4. The cell was carefully immersed into the distilled water and the cell had been positioned
until the top of the capillaries was right below the water level.
5. The conductivity meter and the magnetic stirrer were switched on. The stop watch was
started.
6. The conductivity reading was recorded after 10 minutes. For every 5 minutes intervals
the reading had been taken until 40 minutes.
7. Step 1 to 6 was repeated using different molarity of NaCl solutions.



6.0 RESULTS
Volume of water, V : 1.193 L
Length of capillaries, X : 5 mm
Diameter of capillaries, d : 1 mm
Number of capillaries, N : 97

Time, t (min) 1 M NaCl Solution 4 M NaCl Solution
Conductivity, k (S) Conductivity, k (S)
10 34.9 37.3
15 39.2 46.7
20 42.1 56.0
25 45.4 65.8
30 48.4 75.8
35 51.6 85.8
40 54.3 95.7

Table 1: Conductivity values of 1 M and 4 M of NaCl solutions


Diagram 2: Graph of Conductivity, k (S) against Time, t (min)

6.1 DISCUSSIONS
Diffusion is a spontaneous movement of particles from an area of high concentration to
an area of low concentration until it reaches its equilibrium [2] as shown in Diagram 2.
Diffusion mainly occurs in gaseous state or within gas molecules and liquid molecules. The
molecules of gases are in constant motion and collide with other molecules. The movement of
particles goes from a high concentration gradient to a low concentration gradient as time passed
by. As in this experiment, the diffusion process happened between sodium chloride (NaCl)
particles and distilled water particles.



y = 0.6379x + 29.182
y = 1.9514x + 17.371
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 10 20 30 40 50
C
o
n
d
u
c
t
i
v
i
t
y
,

k

(

S
)

Time, t (min)
Conductivity, k (S) against Time, t (min)
1M NaCl Solution
4M NaCl Solution
Linear (1M NaCl Solution)
Linear (4M NaCl Solution)





Firstly, the trend of the graph of conductivity as a function of time for 1 M and 4 M of
NaCl solutions were increasing. The trend of the graph showed that the longer the time, the
higher the conductivity.
The equation for 1 M of NaCl solution was y = 0.6379x + 29.182 and for 4 M of NaCl
was y = 1.9514x + 17.371. The diffusivity for 1 M of NaCl solution was 1.21810
-7
m
2
/min and
for 4 M of NaCl was 3.04510
-8
m
2
/min.
From the result of the experiment, based on the equation of conductivity, it was showed
that 1 M of NaCl solution has higher diffusivity values which was 1.21810
-7
m
2
/min compared
to 4 M of NaCl solution which was 3.04510
-8
m
2
/min. But from the theory of Ficks Law, it is
stated that the higher the concentration of solution, the higher the diffusivity. This is because the
number of collision increases as the number of molecules increases. When the number of
collision increases, the concentration gradient also increases. As the concentration gradient
increases, the driving force increases. Thus, the value of diffusivity will increase. That is why
when the higher the concentration of NaCl, the higher the diffusivity.
When the concentration of NaCl increases, the values of conductivity will increases, thus
increasing the values of diffusivity. In addition, conductivity is the ability of a solution to
Time
Diagram 3
conduct electricity [3]. It is dependent on the presence of ions in the solution. Ions are derived
from ionic compounds that dissolve in water, such as NaCl. That is why when the concentration
increases, the number of molecules will increases. As the number of molecules increases, the
number of ion presence in the solution will increase, thus the values of conductivity and
diffusivity increases.
Any errors could be happened during the experiment. Firstly, small bubbles were trapped
in the conductivity probe. These bubbles can cause error in getting the conductivity values. If the
bubbles are not removed before starting the experiment, then the values of the conductivity will
not be accurate. Secondly, the NaCl and the distilled water are not mixed thoroughly or
unevenly. This fact is due to the stirrer bar was not spinning fast enough so that the NaCl and
distilled water can be mixed well. Next, the NaCl was already being mixed with distilled water
before the experiment started. This happened when the capillaries are not properly fitted into the
diffusion cell.

7.0 SAMPLE CALCULATIONS

y = 0.6379x + 29.182;

Diffusivity for 1 M Sodium Chloride Solution
D =

D = diffusivity (cm
2
/ s)
V = volume of water in diffusion vessel (cm
3
)
x = length of capillaries (cm)
d = diameter of capillaries (cm)
N = number of capillaries
M = molar concentration of the salt solution (M)
C
M
= conductivity change per unit molar concentration change (dilute solution) (S / M)
dk/dt = rate of change of conductivity with time
* C
M
= 4.1 x 10
5
S / M

()

8.0 CONCLUSIONS
Based on this experiment, the results showed that the conductivity for both
concentrations increased by time. The conductivity value for 4 M NaCl was started with 37.3 S
then ended with 95.7 S at 40 minute while the conductivity for 1 M NaCl was started with
value 34.9 S and ended with value 54.3 S. So the hypothesis; the longer the time, the higher
the conductivity was accepted. Besides, the diffusivity was higher for 4 M which has a value of
3.045 x 10 m/min while for 1 M has a value of 1.218 x 10 m/min, so it could be concluded
that the higher the concentration of the salt solution, the higher the diffusivity of the solution.
10.0RECOMMEDATIONS
1. Replace the NaCl solution with calcium chloride (CaCl) solution. It is because calcium
chloride is more effective than sodium chloride since each molecule produces three ions
in solution compared to two for NaCl. So it may speed up the rate of diffusion.
2. Repeat the experiment three times to get the average reading of conductivity for each
concentration of sodium chloride.
3. Provide the reading level of water at diffusion vessel to get accurate reading when the
distilled water is filled. It helps to speed up the time during set up the liquid diffusion
coefficient apparatus.
4. Make sure no bubbles appear at conductivity probe. It is because the bubbles can affect
the conductivity reading.
5. Make sure the capillaries are not floating when NaCl is filled in diffusion cell. This
method to ensure no air accumulated in it.
6. Perform the experiment in a windy area. It is because the windy condition can speed up
the rate of diffusion.

11.0 REFERENCES
[1] Bennett, C. O. & Myers, J. E. (1982), Chemical Engineering Series (3
rd
ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill, Inc., Page 491
[2] diffen (2012). Retrieved July 6, 2013, from
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Diffusion_vs_Osmosis
[3] eHow (2013). Retrieved July 6, 2013, from
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5942108_effect-solution-concentration-
conductivity.html
[4] Calcium Chloride (2008). Retrieved July 6, 2013, from
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/saltcom.html

12.0 APPENDICES