SCH 2108: Transport

Phenomena

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Course Outline
1: Fluid Mechanics
Dimensional analysis
Fluids in motion
Pumping of fluids
2: Heat Transfer
Equation of heat transfer
Heat transfer types
Heat transfer equipment
3: Mass Transfer
Diffusion
Two film theory

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Absorption of gases
absorption is the removal of one or more selected
components from a mixture of gases.
it is a major operation that is based on inter-phase
mass transfer controlled largely by rates of
diffusion
thus, acetone can be recovered from an acetone–air
mixture by passing the gas stream into water in
which the acetone dissolves while the air passes
out
the process of absorption of the gas in the liquid
may be treated as a physical process, the chemical
reaction having no appreciable effect

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but when oxides of nitrogen are absorbed in
water to give nitric acid, or when carbon
dioxide is absorbed in a solution of sodium
hydroxide, a chemical reaction occurs, the
nature of which influences the actual rate of
absorption.
absorption processes are therefore
conveniently divided into two groups, those
in which the process is solely physical and
those where a chemical reaction is occurring.

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Mechanism of absorption
the mechanism of absorption is described by the
two film theory
according to this theory, material is transferred in
the bulk of the phases by convection currents, and
concentration differences are regarded as
negligible except in the vicinity of the interface
between the phases
on either side of this interface it is supposed that
the currents die out and that there exists a thin
film of fluid through which the transfer is effected
solely by molecular diffusion.

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thus, for a mixture of ammonia or hydrogen
chloride and air which is in equilibrium with an
aqueous solution, the concentration in the water
is many times greater than that in the air.
there is, therefore, a very large concentration
gradient across the interface, although this is not
the controlling factor in the mass transfer, as it is
generally assumed that there is no resistance at
the interface itself, where equilibrium conditions
will exist.
the controlling factor will be the rate of diffusion
through the two films where all the resistance is
considered to lie.

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the change in concentration of a component
through the gas and liquid phases is
illustrated in the Figure above
PAG represents the partial pressure in the bulk
of the gas phase and PAi the partial pressure
at the interface.
CAL is the concentration in the bulk of the
liquid phase and CAi the concentration at the
interface.
thus, according to this theory, the
concentrations at the interface are in
equilibrium, and the resistance to transfer is
centred in the thin films on either side.

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Diffusion through a stagnant
gas
the process of absorption may be regarded as
the diffusion of a soluble gas A into a liquid.
the molecules of A have to diffuse through a
stagnant gas film and then through a
stagnant liquid film before entering the main
bulk of liquid.
the absorption of a gas consisting of a
soluble component A and an insoluble
component B is a problem of mass transfer
through a stationary gas to which Stefan’s law
applies
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when only component A is being
transferred, the total molal flux, to or away
from the interface, is given by

but for an ideal gas ρM = P/RT, where R is

the gas constant, T is the absolute
pressure and P the total pressure
the mole fractions can be expressed as
partial pressures, and BT is replaced by the
distance in the direction of mass transfer,
zG hence
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where the partial pressures P, at each side of
the interface are represented by suffixes 1
and 2
writing PBm as the log mean of the partial
pressures PB1 and PB2, then:

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hence the rate of absorption of A per unit time
per unit area is given by:

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 in the great majority of industrial processes
the film thickness is not known, so that the
rate equation of immediate use is the
equation that makes use of kG.
kG is known as the gas-film transfer
coefficient for absorption and is a direct
measure of the rate of absorption per unit
area of interface with a driving force of unit
partial pressure difference
for diffusion in the liquid phase, we have
N’A = kL(CA1 - CA2)
where kL is the liquid-film transfer coefficient

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Diffusion with a chemical
reaction
often in catalytic reactions where A and B are
diffusing to and from a catalyst surface, the
relation between the fluxes N’A and N’B at
steady state is controlled by the
stoichiometry of a reaction at the boundary.
an example is gas A diffusing from the bulk
of the gas phase to the catalyst surface,
where it reacts instantaneously and
irreversibly in a heterogeneous reaction as
follows:
A 2B

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 gas B then diffuses back as shown in the
diagram below

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at steady state 1 mol of A diffuses to the
catalyst for every 2 mol of B diffusing away,
or NB = -2NA
the negative sign indicates that the fluxes are
in opposite directions
the basic equation for mass transfer in gases
is given by
NA = yAN – DAB ρM(dyA /db)

in relation to our diagram, we have

NA = yAN – DAB ρM(dyA /dz)

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but N = NA + NB
this implies:
NA = yA(NA + NB) – DAB ρM(dyA /dz)

but NB = -2NA therefore,

NA = yA(NA - 2NA) – DAB ρM(dyA /dz)
on rearranging and integration, we obtain;

NA = DAB ρM/δ In [(1 + yAi)/(1 + yA)]

since the reaction is instantaneous, yA = 0
because no A can exist next to the catalyst
surface
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Mass transfer equipment
Evaporators employ the technique of removal of a
solvent by vaporization, from solids that are not
volatile.
It is normally used to produce a concentrated liquid,
often prior to crystallization, but a dry solid
product can be obtained with some specialized
designs. The designs can be grouped into the
following basic types: (1) direct heated evaporators
(pans); (2) heated tube evaporators; (3) agitated
thin film evaporators

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An absorption column consists of a tube
arranged vertically and supplied at the top
with a liquid flowing down (sometimes in
the form of spray) that can absorb a specific
gas from a mixture. The mixture (usually
gaseous) is supplied from the bottom
flowing up, (counter-currently) and upon
contact with the liquid spray a certain gas is
selectively absorbed thereby effecting a
separation. There are two common types of
absorption columns (1) spray tower; (2)
packed tower.

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A distillation column – consists of a
tube arranged vertically and supplied at the bottom
with a mixture of multi-component vapor. At the
top, a condenser returns some of the product as a
reflux which flows in a thin film down the inner wall
of the tube. The tube is insulated and heat losses
can be neglected. At one point in the column, the
vapor contains a large amount of a certain
component and the adjacent liquid reflux contains
a large amount of the other. Mass transfer in a
distillation column is usually described by the
equation of equi-molar counter diffusion.
NA = -kG(PA2 – PA1); kG = -DV/RTL
where L – thickness of stagnant layer
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Tutorial: Question 1
Pure gas A diffuses from point 1 at a partial
pressure of 90kPa to point 2 a distance
2.00mm away. At point 2 it undergoes a
chemical reaction at the catalyst surface.
Component B diffuses back at steady state. The
total pressure is P = 101.32kPa. The
temperature is 300K and DAB = 0.15 x 10-4
m2/s. For an instantaneous rate of reaction,
calculate NA. A 2B.

[Ans: 1.93e-4 kmol/s.m2 ]

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Question 2
Hydrogen gas in maintained at pressures of 2.4 bar
and 1 bar on opposite sides of a plastic membrane
0.3mm thick. The binary diffusion coefficient of
hydrogen plastic is 8.6 x 10-8m2/s and solubility of
hydrogen in membrane is 0.00145 kmol/m3bar.
Calculate, under uniform temperature conditions of
24oC the following:
(i) Molar concentrations of H at the opposite faces of
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the membrane, and
(ii) Molar and mass diffusion flux of hydrogen through
the membrane.

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Question 3

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