DIFFUSION in LIQUIDS and SOLIDS

LIQUID DIFFUSION
important to many industrial separation processes e.g. distillation and extraction. Often largest resistance to overall mass transfer is in liquid phase. D in liquid very low compared to gas-molecules closer increasing collision frequency increase in attractive forces D in gas ~105 times greater than in a liquid. However flux ~100 times faster since conc. in liquids considerably higher than in gases.

Equimolar Counter Diffusion in Liquids

Using relationship derived for gases

cAV is av total conc. of A+B kg mol/m3

Mi is avg MW of soln at point i, kg mass/kg mol 3 i is avg density of soln at point i, kg/m D and c are concentration dependent - use average ECD almost never occurs in liquid diffusion because of the

Diffusion through a Stagnant Film

In extraction where solute A is diffusing and solvent B is stagnant or nondiffusing. dilute soln of PA (A) in water (B) contacted with Toluene - only PA diffuses (NB=0)
Toluene Water Propionic acid

for dilute solns xBM1, c constant

SOLID DIFFUSION
mass transfer in solids important in chemical and biological processing e.g. leaching of foods e.g. soybeans, and of metal ores; drying of timber, salts, and foods; diffusion and catalytic reaction in solid catalysts; separation of fluids by membranes; diffusion of gases through polymer films used in packaging; and treating of metals at high temperatures by gases. classified into two types non-porous (structure-insensitive) solute is dissolved so as to form a homogeneous solution diffusion does not depend on the actual structure of the solid e.g. gas through membranes, solid solutions in alloys porous (structure-sensitive) liquids and gases flowing through the interstices and capillary passages in a solid actual structure and void channels are important e.g. porous solid catalyst

Non-Porous
can be considered to follow Fick's law bulk flow and xA very small, assume c constant DAB indep of P and DBA Integrating at steady state

Porous Solids
NA

Voids filled with solvent no diffusion through solid Fickian diffusion with extended path

z1 z2 X = tortuosity (corrects for path length) = open void fraction terms combined