Diffusion of Acetone in Air

Bryan John (50%)

Jeremy Alley (50%)
Alley, John 2
Table of Contents(check short report format)
I. Abstract(usually put abstract before !, no pa"e #s, etc. also)
$
II. Bac%"roun& '
III. ()perimental *etho&s '
I+. Discussion of ,esults 5
+. !onclusions an& ,ecommen&ations $2
Figures and Tables
-i"ure $ .
-i"ure 2 .
-i"ure / 0
able $ 1
Appendices
Appen&i) A (2omenclature an& 3ample !alculations)
Appen&i) B (()cel 3prea& 3heets)
Biblio"raphy
Alley, John /
Abstract (3 Cs: Clear, Concise , Complete)
A molecular &iffusion e)periment of acetone4air (re&un&ant 56 last sentence. .
concise)5as con&ucte& 5ith the "oal of &eterminin" the &iffusion coefficient of acetone
into air. -or this e)periment, acetone 5as place& in a test tub /mm 7D, 2mm ID . . (is
that correct8) 2*, tube8 e an& 5as allo5e& to &iffuse into non4&iffusin" air that 5as
passe& o9er the test tube. he air that passe& o9er the tube 5as from natural circulation
in the room an& no air 5as force& o9er the top of the test tube. he &iffusion occurre&
o9er a perio& of appro)imately ei"ht hours, 5ith rea&in"s ta%en each hour. After
analy:in" the &ata collecte& from the performance of this e)periment, the &iffusion
coefficient 5as calculate& to be 0.01; < 0.02 cm
2
6s at = 8. After completin" our
calculations, o7ur results 5ere then compare& usin" the !hapman4(ns%o" e>uation as
5ell as the -uller, 3chettler, an& ?i&&in"s metho&. he &iffusion coefficient calculate&
by the !hapman4(ns%o" 5as 0.110 < 0.00$ cm
2
6s an& the result of the -uller, 3chettler,
an& ?i&&in"s metho& 5as 0.$0' < .002 cm
2
6s. he literature 9alue foun& in @erryAs
!hemical (n"ineerAs Ban&boo% 5as 0.$25 < 0.00 cm
2
6s. (at = 8. . .or e)trapolate&
from8) he a"reement of our metho& 5ith the other metho&s a9ailable for calculatin" the
&iffusion coefficient 5as 9ery "oo& (ho5 "oo& is C9eryD "oo&. ..si"nificant &iscrepencies
or not8), an& also a"ree& 5ell 5ith the literature 9alue foun&. his le& to a conclusion
that this metho& of &eterminin" the &iffusion coefficient of acetone into air can be
aconsi&ere& a reasonably reliable metho&.
Alley, John '
BAC!"#$%&
*olecular &iffusion is the transfer or mo9ement of in&i9i&ual molecules throu"h a
flui& by ran&om molecular mo9ements (?ean%oplis '$2, year of publication). In the
&iffusion process, the molecules of interest flo5 from re"ions of hi"h concentration to
lo5 concentration. *olecular &iffusion can occur in both &irections 5ith the system. In
the case of the &iffusion tube e)periment, ho5e9er, acetone &iffuses throu"h non4
&iffusin" air, 5hich is passe& o9er the top of the test tube containin" the acetone. he air
is allo5e& into the test tube, but &oes not &iffuse into the acetone.
*olecular &iffusion of "ases has been stu&ie& for many years. *olecular
&iffusion is a mass transport process *oti9ation for its stu&y comes from the fact that
chemical separation processes such as &istillation, &ryin", ion e)chan"e systems as 5ell
as many other processes &epen& on molecular &iffusion (Eir%47thmer +ol ;, p $'1(chec%
format)).
'()'"*+'%TA, +'T-#&.
-or the performance of this e)periment, a small test tube 5as fille& appro)imately
a thir& full of acetoneBe specific. . ho5 small, startin" hei"ht, &iam, etc. his test tube
5as then 9ertically place& in a $0mF "ra&uate& cylin&er 5hich containe& small bea&s.
he purpose of the bea&s 5as to ensure that the test tube remaine& 9ertical. his
assembly 5as then place& on a &i"ital scale. he amount of air mo9ement pro9i&e& by
the 9entilation system 5as assume& to be a&e>uate so as to ensure that the concentration
Alley, John 5
of the acetone at the top of the tube 5as :ero. An initial acetone le9el in the test tube 5as
ta%en, as 5ell as the mass of the assembly an& the temperature of the area surroun&in"
the assembly. After this initial &ata 5as ta%en, the area temperature an& mass of the
assembly 5ere ta%en appro)imately e9ery hour for the ne)t ei"ht hours. he final le9el
of the acetone in the test tube 5as ta%en 5hen the final temperature an& mass rea&in"
5ere ta%en.
&*.C$..*#% #F "'.$,T.
-rom the &ata collecte& from the e)periment, the &iffusion coefficient 5as calculate&
usin" e>uation ..242. from ?ean%oplisG
) ( 2
) (
2 $
0
2 2
A A AB A
BM
f
A
p p P D M
RTp z z
t

=

((>uation $)
As the : 9alue 5as only recor&e& at the be"innin" an& the en& of the e)periment, the
interme&iate 9alues of : ha& to be calculate&. he follo5in" e>uation 5as use& for the
calculation of the interme&iate : 9aluesG
0
0
) (
z
A
m m
z
A
t
t
+

((>uation 2)
hus, all 9alues but DAB 5ere %no5n an& coul& be plotte& 9ersus time to obtain a linear
plot. By rearran"in" e>uation $, it can be seen that the slope of this plot 5ill be e>ual to
$6 DAB G
)
) ( 2
) (
)(
$
(
2 $
0
2 2
A A A
BM
f
A
AB
p p P M
RTp z z
D
t

=

((>uation $.$)
he initial plot of &ata 5hich inclu&es all points is sho5n belo5 in -i"ure $. his
plot contains all points an& has an ,
2
9alue of 0.1'0;. -rom this plot the molecular
&iffusi9ity coefficient 5as &etermine& to be 0.$0; < 0.022 cm26s.
Alley, John .
-i"ure $G -irst plot of &ata in (>uation $
he secon& point in the &ata (t=2000s) sho5e& no &iffusion occurre& in the first
'5 minutes, 5hich seems unli%ely (yes, "oo&4 sensiti9ity of balance, etc). If this point is
ta%en as erroneous, the ,
2
9alue "oes up to 0.1./1 (more important here 5ill be the
confi&ence inter9al on the slop. . ."et that from ools4 Data Analyis4,e"ression menu in
()cel or else in @olymath or able!ure9e, etc) an& the molecular &iffusi9ity calculates
out to be 0.01; < 0.02$ cm
2
6s. he plot of the e)perimental &ata e)clu&in" the secon&
point is presente& belo5 in -i"ure 2.
Alley, John 0
-i"ure 2G 3econ& plot of &ata in (>uation $. . forcin" throu"h :ero point is "oo&. . .loo%s to me
li%e first -7H, points 5oul& "i9e a lo5er Dab then the last '. @roblems 5ith ne)t / that lie belo5 line8
Anytihin" suspicious happenin" here8
o &etermine the time it ta%es for the system to reach stea&y state, the follo5in"
e>uation can be use& to calculate the fraction of stea&y state the system is atG
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
25 $. 1 '
2 2 2 2 2 $
) (
) (
o
t
o
t
o
t
o
t
o
t
z
t Dz
z
t Dz
z
t Dz
z
t Dz
z
t Dz
t A
t A
e e e e e
N
N

=
+ + =
((>uation
/)
By plottin" the 9alue of ((2A)t6(2A)t=I) 9ersus time, the cur9e in -i"ure / 5as "enerate&
5hich &emonstrates the systems approach to stea&y state. Jo5, "reatK !ite source. (still
5on&er about 33 con&itions of $
st
' pts thou"h. . .
-i"ure /G -raction of stea&y state 9ersus time
-rom this plot, it coul& be sai& that the system achie9es stea&y state in $$5
minutesL ho5e9er, there is stron" e9i&ence this may not be accurate. As mentione&
earlier, the secon& point may be erroneous. his 5oul& chan"e the path of the cur9e. In
a&&ition, &ata 5as not collecte& at a hi"h enou"h fre>uency for this cur9e to be hi"hly
Alley, John ;
accurate at pre&ictin" the time to stea&y state. If in fact the secon& point is erroneous, the
system coul& ha9e come to stea&y state 5ell before $$5 minutes. his time of $$5
minutes at best, coul& be the upper boun& (or lo5er boun& accor&in" to Jhita%erAs
criteria in his article (han&out). . .not sureKKfor the time it ta%es for the system to come to
stea&y state.
he scatter in the &ata can be attribute& to 9arious factors in the e)periment. he
scatter coul& be attribute& to the chan"es in temperature, as the temperature &i& fluctuate
sli"htly throu"h the &uration of the e)periment M ?oo&K. At 5hat time &i& it stabili:e8.
he chan"e in temperature 5oul& cause a chan"e in the partial pressure of the acetone
lea&in" to further &e9iations. In a&&ition, there 5as no measure of airflo5 past the tube.
!han"es in the airflo5 coul& also ha9e contribute& to the scatter as it coul& effect the
concentration of the acetone at the top of the test tube (?oo&K).
he &iffusion coefficient 5as also calculate& usin" the !hapman (ns%o"
e>uation,
2 6 $
,
2 6 / 0
)
$ $
(
$0 N ;5;/ . $
B A AB D AB
AB
M M P
T
D +

((>uation ')
an& the -uller, 3chettler an& ?i&&in"s metho&.
2 / 6 $ / 6 $
2 6 $ 05 . $ 0
O ) ( ) P(
) 6 $ 6 $ ( $0 N 00 . $
B A
B A
AB
v v P
M M T
D
+
+
=

((>uation 5)
A literature 9alue 5as also foun& for acetone at 88 E(chec% @errys), 5hich 5as correcte&
to our e)perimental temperature usin" the correlation
05 . $
$
05 . $
2
$ 2
T
T
D D
AB AB
=
((>uation .)
Alley, John 1
he 9alues obtaine& 5ith these metho&s as 5ell as those from the e)perimental &ata are
presente& in able 2.
able $G +alues of
molecular &iffusi9ity
coefficients foun&.NN
NN A 9ery "oo& 5ay to sho5 this "raphically in ()cel 5oul& be to use a bar "raph sho5in" the 9alues of
Dab as hei"ht of a bar by metho& use&, an& error bars to easily &emonstrate any o9erlap of uncertainty,
&iscrepancy, etc. ()ampleG
he !hapman (ns%o" metho& is accurate 5ithin ;% an& the -uller 3chettler an&
?i&&in"s 9alue has a lo5er accuracy than the !hapman (ns%o" (?ean%oplis '25). he
Value(cm2/s) + (cm2/s)
Experimental Plot 0.0981 0.0213
Fuller Scettler an!
"i!!in#s 0.10$$
0.001%
soul!
pro&. 'se
(our #i)en
(approx. 8*
an! +*
,apman Ens-o# 0.0989 0.001.
/iterature 0.12. +
Alley, John $0
!hapman (ns%o" 9alue is less than $% &ifferent than the e)perimental 9alue an& the
-uller 3chettler an& ?i&&in"s 9alue only about .% &ifferent. -rom this analysis, it seems
these e>uations pre&icte& the e)perimental 9alue 9ery 5ell. hese calculate& 9alues are
about 20% lo5er than the literature 9alue. his 9ariance may come from the inconsistent
temperature in the room or from pressure fluctuations in the room cause& perhaps by the
startin" an& stoppin" of the B+A! systems.
-or the &eri9ation of (>uation $, se9eral assumptions are ma&e. Be"innin" 5ith
the "eneral e>uation (?ean%oplis ..24$')G
( )
B A
A A
AB A
N N
c
c
dz
dx
cD N + + = ((>uation 0)
7ne assumption 5as that because the case e)amine& 5as a &iffusin" A (acetone) into
non4&iffusin" B (air), the &iffusion flu) of air into the acetone (2B) 5as e>ual to :ero.
Another assumption ma&e 5as that since the total pressure 5as lo5, the acetone "as
&iffusin" into air 5as an i&eal "as. his allo5e& for the term c to be replace& 5ith its
i&eal "as e>ui9alent, @6,. A&&itionally, the air passin" o9er the test tube 5as assume&
to contain no 5ater 9apor. An a9era"e air 9elocity that 5as uniform 5as passin" o9er the
acetone containin" test tube 5as also assume&.
here are non4i&ealities that e)ist in the molecular &iffusion of acetone into air.
3ome of these non4i&ealities are correcte& for in the Qournal from Fee an& Jil%e.
Acetone &isplays surface tension effects 5hich, instea& of ha9in" a perfectly hori:ontal
li>ui& surface, "i9e the li>ui& acetone a sli"htly &o5n5ar& cur9e& li>ui& le9el. Because
of this cur9ature, the actual &iffusion path len"th that the acetone tra9els is smaller than
Alley, John $$
5hat the &iffusion len"th 5oul& appear to be base& on center li>ui& le9el or calculate&
li>ui& 9olume (Fee 2/;').
Alon" 5ith a non i&eal li>ui& surface, the air passin" o9er the open en& of the tube may
cause some turbulence to e)ist in the top portion of the tube. Jith its e)istence, the
turbulent area of the tube 5ill cause a len"th to e)ist insi&e the tube 5here the
concentration of acetone is :ero. Jith the presence of this acetone 9apor4free re"ion, the
&iffusion len"th is a"ain shorter than it 5oul& appear to be.
o account for the non4i&ealities in the &iffusion process, Fee an& Jil%e &o not
use the apparent &iffusion path. Instea&, they use an effecti9e a9era"e &iffusion path
5hich they "i9e byG
x x x x x x
a e s a
= =
((>uation ;)
Jhere ) is the effecti9e a9era"e &iffusion path, R)s is the len"th of the cur9ature of the
non4i&eal li>ui& to account for the surface tension forces, R)e is the len"th of the tube
5here the acetone 9apor4free re"ion e)ists &ue to turbulence that e)ists from the passa"e
of the air, an& R) is the sum of R)s an& R)e (Fee 2/;'). Jhen this is substitute& bac%
into the &iffusion e>uation, it becomes the follo5in"G
( ) x x RTp
p DP
x RTp
p P D
N
a f a a
a
A

=
2
((>uation 1)
Jhere Da is the apparent &iffusion coefficient an& D is the true &iffusion coefficient
base& on the true &iffusion path (Fee 2/;'). he 5ay our e)periment 5as setup, the
&ri9in" force for the air across the test tube 5as natural air flo5 an& &i& not employ
Alley, John $2
force& air flo5. Because of this, the len"th of the tube 5here the turbulence e)iste& in the
Fee an& Jil%e Qournal 5oul& most li%ely not ha9e been present in our e)periment. Also,
the initial li>ui& acetone le9el selecte& in our e)periment 5as such that the len"th of the
cur9ature &ue to the surface tension forces on the acetone 5oul& ha9e been ne"li"ible
5hen compare& to the apparent &iffusion len"th of the tube.
he initial hei"ht of the li>ui& in the tube for this e)periment 5as chosen 5isely.
he reason for this is that 5ith the initial le9el that 5as chosen, a sufficiently lon"
&iffusion path e)iste& such that the non4i&ealities that 5ere accounte& for in the Fee an&
Jil%e Qournal entry 5oul& ha9e ha& a 9ery insi"nificant impact on the results of our
e)periment.
C#%C,$.*#%. A%& "'C#++'%&AT*#%.
-rom the &ata collecte& an analy:e&, it has been &etermine& that the e)perimental
proce&ure use& here can &etermine the molecular &iffusi9ity coefficient 5ith some le9el
of accuracy. -or future e)periments, some form of air flo5 re"ulation shoul& be
in9esti"ate&. 3omethin" as simple as a room fan coul& be place& ne)t to the scale to
ensure a more constant air flo5. Another increase in accuracy coul& be achie9e& by
re"ulatin" the temperature 5ith more consistency. If the e)periment coul& be performe&
in a lar"e insulate& room, the temperature may not 9ary as much.
?oo& Qob on Discussion, !onclusions, etc. . .to impro9e maybe e)pan& to relate 5hat
S7H thin% are the main TuncertaintysA that cause& problems in S7H, @A,I!HFA,
!A3( an& sho5 e+ID(2!( 7 3H@@7,.
Alley, John $/
4D*
Alley, John $'
%#+'%C,AT$"' / CA,C$,AT*#%.