Transport Phenomena

Curriculum
1
CEP 501 MASS, MOMENTUM AND ENERGY TRANSPORT
3 Hours/week, 3 Credits
Momentum transport: Viscosity and the mechanism of momentum transport, Shell
momentum balances and velocity distributions in laminar flow, the equations of
change for isothermal systems, Velocity distributions with more than one
independent variable, Interphase transport in isothermal systems, Macroscopic
balances for isothermal flow systems. Energy transport: Thermal conductivity and
the mechanisms of energy transport, Shell energy balances and temperature
distributions in laminar flow, The equations of change for nonisothermal systems,
Temperature distributions with more than one independent variable. Mass
transport: Diffusivity and the mechanisms of mass transport, Concentration
distributions in solids and laminar flow, The equations of change for multicomponent
systems, Concentration distributions with more than one independent variable,
Interphase transport in nonisothermal mixtures, Macroscopic balances for
Multicomponent systems

References:
R. Byron Bird, Warren E. Stewart, Edwin N. Lightfoot, Transport Phenomena, 2nd Edition.
Publisher: Wiley.
Chapter 18: Concentration Distributions
in Solids and in Laminar Flow
2

Combined convection and diffusion flow

For homogeneous reactions, For heterogeneous reactions, the

the molar rate of production molar rate of production at the reaction
of species A may be given by: surface may often be specified by:

SHELL MASS BALANCES

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: Concentration Distributions
in Solids and in Laminar Flow
3

The boundary conditions

a. The concentration at a surface can be specified; for example, xA = xA0
b. The mass flux at a surface can be specified; for example, NAZ = NA0 . If the ratio NBZ /NAZ is
known, this is equivalent to giving the concentration gradient.
c. If diffusion is occurring in a solid, it may happen that at the solid surface substance A is lost
to a surrounding stream according to the relation:

in which NAO is the molar flux at the surface, CAO is the surface concentration, cAb is the concentration
in the bulk fluid stream, and the proportionality constant kc is a "mass transfer coefficient."
d. The rate of chemical reaction at the surface can be specified. For example, if substance A disappears
at a surface by a first-order chemical reaction, then
That is, the rate of disappearance at a surface is proportional to the surface concentration, the
proportionality constant ; being a first-order chemical rate coefficient.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: Difffusion through a stagnant gas film

Fig. 18.2-1. Steady-state diffusion of A through

stagnant B with the liquid-vapor interface
maintained at a fixed position.
The graph shows how the concentration profiles
deviate from straight lines because of the
convective contribution to the mass flux.
When this evaporating system attains a steady
state, there is a net motion of A away
from the interface and the species B is
stationary. Hence the molar flux of A is given by

with NBz = 0.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: Difffusion through a stagnant gas film

For an ideal gas mixture, p = cRT, so that at

constant temperature and pressure c must be a
constant. Furthermore, for gases is very
nearly independent of the composition

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: Difffusion through a stagnant gas film

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HETEROGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
7

Let us now consider a simple model for a catalytic reactor, such as that shown in
Fig. 18.3-la, in which a reaction 2A  B is being carried out. An example of a
reaction of this type would be the solid-catalyzed dimerization of CH3CH = CH2.

Fig. 18.3-1. (a) Schematic diagram of a catalytic reactor in which A is being

converted to B.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

 Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HETEROGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
8

We imagine that each catalyst particle is

surrounded by a stagnant gas film through
which A has to diffuse to reach the catalyst
surface, as shown in Fig. 18.3-lb.

(b) Idealized picture or model of the diffusion problem near the surface of a catalyst
particle.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HETEROGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
9

At the catalyst surface we assume that the reaction 2A  B occurs

instantaneously, and that the product B then diffuses back out through the gas
film to the main turbulent stream composed of A and B. We want to get an
expression for the local rate of conversion from A to B when the effective gas-
film thickness and the main stream concentrations xA0 and xB0 are known. We
assume that the gas film is isothermal, although in many catalytic reactions the
heat generated by the reaction cannot be neglected.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena
 Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HETEROGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
10

2A  B: For the situation depicted in Fig. 18.3-lb, there is one mole of B moving in the
minus z direction for every two moles of A moving in the plus z direction. At steady state:

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HETEROGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
11

We now make a mass balance on species A over

a thin slab of thickness z in the gas film.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

 Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HOMOGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
12

We consider a system shown in Fig. 18.4-1. Here gas A dissolves in liquid B in a beaker
and diffuses isothermally into the liquid phase. As it diffuses, A also undergoes an
irreversible first-order homogeneous reaction:
A + B  AB.
An example of such a system is the absorption of CO2 by a concentrated aqueous solution
of NaOH.
We treat this as a binary solution of A and B,
ignoring the small amount of AB that is
present (the pseudobinary assumption).
Then the mass balance on species A over a
thickness
z of the liquid phase becomes

Fig. 18.4-1. Absorption of A by B with a

homogeneous reaction in the liquid phase.

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HOMOGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
13

If the concentration of A is small

(xA 0 and c is constant),
then we may to a good
approximation write

as

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

 Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HOMOGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
14

…..

If Eq. 18.4-4 is multiplied by , then it can be written in dimensionless

variables in the form

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HOMOGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
15

 :

M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena

Chapter 18: DIFFUSION WITH A HOMOGENEOUS
CHEMICAL REACTION
16

 :

This result shows how the chemical reaction influences the rate of absorption of
gas A by liquid B.
M A Islam, CEP, SUST October, 2020 Transport Phenomena
Mass, Momentum and Energy
Transport

17

THANKS FOR ATTENDING THE

LECTURE 11 !
DATE: SEPTEMBER ??, 2020
ENVIRONMENT: ZOOM

PROFESSOR DR MD AKHTARUL ISLAM

DEPT. OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND
POLYMER SCIENCE