Dr.

Nabeel Ahmad
Department of Chemical Engineering
COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore campus
Email: nabeelahmad@cuilahore.edu.pk
 Recommended Books
1. Principles of Mass Transfer and Separation Process by Binary K.
Dutta
2. Fundamentals of Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer (5th
Edition) by Welty and Wicks.
3. Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering (5th Edition) by
McCabe Smith.
4. Separation Process Principles (2nd Edition) by Seader and
Henley
 Molecular diffusion
Movement of individual molecule by virtue of their thermal energy
Explanation by kinetic theory

1. Random motion
2. With every collision their direction and
magnitude will change
3. Average distance of molecules travel
between collision is it Mean free path
4. Net diffusion from start point to point d in
a given time is rate of diffusion
5. Rate of diffusion (RFD) is very low
6. RFD can be increase by reducing pressure
(less collisions) or by increasing
temperature (increase molecular velocity)
 Rate of Molecular diffusion

• Rate of molecular diffusion is very slow

• Increases with decreasing pressure (reduced number of collisions).

• Increases with increasing temperature (increases the molecular

velocity)
 Terms used in Mass transfer
Mass concentration
The mass concentration of species i is expressed as ρi. It is defined as the
mass of i per unit volume of a multi component mixture; that is:

𝑚𝑖
𝜌𝑖 = (1)
𝑉

It has the same unit as density. Total mass concentration within a mixture is
equal to overall density which can be expressed as

𝑛
𝜌= 𝑖=1 𝜌𝑖 (2)
Where n is the number of species in the mixture.
 Terms used in Mass transfer
Mass fraction
The mass fraction of species i is defined by the ratio of mass concentration
of species i to the total mass density. It can be expressed as:

𝜌𝑖 𝜌𝑖
𝑤𝑖 = 𝑛𝜌 = (3)
𝑖 𝑖 𝜌

From equations (2) and (3), it is shown that

𝑛 𝑛 𝜌𝑖
𝑖=1 𝑤𝑖 = 𝑖=1 𝜌 =1 (4)
 Terms used in Mass transfer
Molar concentration
The molar concentration of component is denoted by Ci. It is defined as moles of ith component per
unit volume of mixture. The total concentration in the system can be obtained by sum up all molar
concentrations for all species which can be represented as
𝑛
𝐶= 𝑖 𝐶𝑖 (5)

Sometimes it is required to convert from mass to molar concentration. This can be accomplished by
dividing the mass concentration of species i by the molar weight of that species. For an ideal gas
mixture the molar concentration of species i can be obtained from the ideal gas law (PV=nRT) as

𝑃𝑖
𝐶𝑖 = (6)
𝑅𝑇
Where ρi is the partial pressure of species i in the mixture. T is the absolute temperature
and R is the universal gas constant. So total concentration in the gaseous system can be
represented by
1 𝑛 𝑃𝑡
𝐶= 𝑃 = (7)
𝑅𝑇 𝑖=1 𝑖 𝑅𝑇
Where Pt is the total pressure of the system which is sum of partial pressures of all
components.
 Terms used in Mass transfer
Mole fraction
The mole fraction of species i is found by dividing the molar concentration of
species i by total concentration in the system which is expressed as:

𝐶𝑖
𝑥𝑖 = (8)
𝐶
and

𝑃𝑖
𝑦𝑖 = (9)
𝑃𝑡
 Numerical problem
Problem 1: Calculate the mass concentration of 2 gram moles of Sulphur dioxide to be
used to manufacture sulfuric acid in a 0.20 m3 of reactor.
Solution
Number of moles=n= 2 gmoles of SO2
Total volume (V) is 0.2 m3
Molecular weight (M) of SO2 is 64 g/mol

We have to calculate ρ is mass concentration (expressed in density)

𝑚
ρ=
𝑉
Mass (m) can be calculate using formula
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 (𝑚)
𝑛=
𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑡 (𝑀)

m= 128grams = 0.128 kg

ρ =0.64kg/m3
Problem 2: A mixture of noble gases [helium, argon, krypton, and xenon] is at a total
pressure of 100 kPa and a temperature of 200 K. If the mixture has equal kmole fractions
of each of the gases, determine:
a) The composition of the mixture in terms of mass fractions.
b) Total molar concentration
c) The mass density.
Solution
Pressure (P)= 100KPa
Temperature (T)=200K
Mixture has equal Kmole fractions of each gas. Let take basis= 100Kmole of
complete mixture
Moles w (mass
Gases MW (kg/mol) Mass (kg)
(Kmole) fraction)
He 25 4 100 0.0154
Ar 25 40 1000 0.1544
Krypton 25 83.8 2095 0.3234
xenon 25 131.3 3282.5 0.5068
6477.5 1
Molar concentration
𝑃 Moles MW w (mass
𝐶= Gases Mass (kg)
(Kmole) (kg/mol) fraction)
𝑅𝑇
R= 8.314 KPa. m3. Kmole-1. K-1 He 25 4 100 0.0154
Ar 25 40 1000 0.1544
By substituting values we can get C Krypton 25 83.8 2095 0.3234
xenon 25 131.3 3282.5 0.5068
C= 0.0601 Kmole/m3 → 60.14 mol/ m3
100 6477.5 1
ρ
𝐶=
𝑀𝑊 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒
MW average= total mass(6477.5)/total moles(100)
MW average= 64.775 kg/kmole → 0.064775 kg/mol

Now we can calculate mass density by using formula below

𝑘𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝜌 = 𝑀𝑊 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 × 𝐶 = 0.0647 × 60.14 3
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚
ρ= 3.89554 kg/m3
Problem 3: The feed gas to an absorber has the following composition 90%CH4, 5%C2H6,
4%nC3H8, 1%nC4H10 at 313k and 200kPa. Calculate the;
(a)Composition of feed gas in terms of mass fraction
(b)Total mass concentration of feed gas.
Species n (Kmol) MW Mass (kg) W (mass fraction)
Solution CH4 90 16 1440 0.7895
Pressure (P)= 200KPa C2H6 5 30 150 0.0822
Temperature (T)=313K nC3H8 4 44 176 0.0965
Let take basis= 100Kmole
nC4H10 1 58 58 0.0318
Total 100 1824 1
𝑃
𝐶=
𝑅𝑇
C= 0.0768556 kmol/m3
MW average= 18.25 kg/kmol
To calculate mass concentration wee can use formula 𝜌 = 𝑀𝑊 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 × 𝐶
ρ= 1.40 kg/m3
Problem 4: A liquid mixture contains 30 wt% NaNO3 and 70 wt%H2O. The solution temperature is 300K and
the density of the solution is assumed to 1050 kg/m3. Calculate the;
a) The composition in terms of mole fractions.
b) The total molar concentration

Solution
ρ= 1050 kg/m3
Temperature (T)=300K
Let take basis= 1 kg of solution

Species Mass (kg) MW Moles x (mole fraction)

NaNO3 0.3 85 0.0035 0.0832
H2O 0.7 18 0.0389 0.9168
Total 1 0.0424 1

𝜌
𝐶=
𝑀𝑊 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒
MW average= 23.5747 kg/kmol

C= 44.539 kmol/m3
Problem 5: liquefied natural gas, LNG is to be shipped by an ocean carrier to processing plant. The molar
composition of the commercial LNG is:
Methane CH4: 93.5mol % Propane C5H8: 1.2%
Ethane C2H6 4.6% Carbon dioxide CO2: 0.7%
Determine:
a) The weight fraction of ethane;
b) The average molecular weight of the LNG mixture;
c) The density of the gas mixture when heated to 207K and at 1.4 x 105 Pa.
d) The partial pressure of methane when the total pressure is 1.4 x 105 Pa;

Solution
Basis 1gmole LNG Moles Wt
Component MW mass (g)
(gmol) fraction
a) Wt fraction of ethane=0.08 CH4 0.935 16 14.96 0.87
b) Average MW of LNG: 17.176/1=17.179 C2H6 0.046 30 1.38 0.08
c) Density : C3H8 0.012 44 0.528 0.03
𝑚 𝑃𝑀 1.4 × 105 17.176
CO2 0.007 3 44 0.308 0.02
ρ= = = = 1397 𝑔/𝑚
𝑉 𝑅𝑇 8.314 207 1 17.176 1
5
d) 𝑝𝐶𝐻 = 𝑦𝐶𝐻4 × 𝑃 = 0.935 1.4 × 10 = 131 𝑘𝑃𝑎
4
Problem 6: In the manufacture of microelectronic devices, a thin film of solid silicon (Si) is uniformly deposited
on a water surface by the chemical decomposition of silane (SiH4) in the presence of H2 gas. If the gas
composition maintained at 40 mol% SiH4 and 60 mol% H2, determine
a) The weight fraction of these species;
b) The average molecular weight of the gas mixture;
c) The molar concentration, CA of SiH4 if the feed gas is maintained at 900K and a system pressure of 60torr.
Solution
Basis 1 kgmole of gas mixture

a) Wt fraction of all species are shown in table.

b) Average MW of mixture: 14.048/1=14.048 kg/kgmol
c) Converting P units from torr to Pa
60
𝑝= 1.013 × 105 = 7.99 × 103 𝑃𝑎
760

𝑃 Moles (Kg Mass

We know that total concentration is 𝐶 = Components MW
mole) (Kg)
Wt fraction
𝑅𝑇
7.99 × 103
𝐶= = 1.068 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒/𝑚3 SiH4 32.12 0.4 12.848 0.914579
8.314 × 900
H2 2 0.6 1.2 0.085421
𝐶 𝑆𝑖𝐻 = 𝑦𝑆𝑖𝐻4 × 𝐶 1 14.048 1
4
𝐶 𝑆𝑖𝐻 = 0.40 × 1.068 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟐𝟕 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒆/𝒎𝟑
4