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MODULE III
Heat and Mass Transfer

Lesson 1 Conductive

Lesson 2 Convective

Lesson 3 Radiation

Lesson 4 Heat exchangers

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MODULE III

HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER

 INTRODUCTION

Most food processes, such as cooking, pasteurization, sterilization, drying,

evaporation, distillation, chilling, freezing etc. involve some sort of heat transfer.
Important industrial processes such as membrane separation, drying, salting,
candying, humidifier cation, adsorption, extraction etc. involve the exchange of
materials between different parts (phases) of the system, often combined with
heating or cooling. Transport of moisture and oxygen through the package often
determines the shelf life of the product within. Our chemical senses (taste, odor)
can function only if molecules of the taste and odor components can be transported
to the sensing bodies. Most importantly, life itself depends on the exchange of
material through biological membranes. Heat transfer and mass transfer are based
on essentially similar physical principles. Both processes obey laws that are, in
principle, identical. Therefore, the basic principles of heat and mass transfer will be
described together while their applications will be treated separately.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying the module, you are expected to:

1. Identify and distinguish the different mode of heat transfer

2. Understand the different principles of conduction, convection and radiation
3. Understand the fundamental of heat transfer mechanisms and solve
conduction, convection and radiation problems
4. To understand different function of heat exchangers

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are four (4) lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully then
answer the learning plan and Summative Test to find out how much you have

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benefited from it. Work on these activities carefully and submit your output
to your professor. In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your
professor during the online meeting

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Lesson 1

 Conductive heat and mass transfer

Heat transfer occurs via three fundamental mechanisms: conduction, convection,

and radiation. In practice, more than one mechanism may be involved in a transfer
process.

• Conduction refers to the transfer of heat through a stationary medium. The

mass transfer equivalent of conduction (conductive mass transfer) is
molecular diffusion through a stationary medium

• Convection occurs when heat travels along with a moving fluid. In mass
transfer, convection (convective mass transfer) refers to a situation whereby
molecular diffusion occurs simultaneously with bulk flow

• Radiation is the transfer of heat in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

Unlike the former two mechanisms, radiative heat transfer does not require
the presence of a material medium between the two points.
Conductive Heat and Mass Transfer

The Fourier and Fick laws

In media with no considerable internal mobility (e.g. solids), heat travels by
conduction and mass travels by molecular diffusion. These transfers are governed by
Fourier’s and Fick’s laws, respectively:

(after Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier, French mathematician-physicist, 1768–1830).

For mass transfer:

(after Adolf Eugen Fick, German physiologist, 1829–1901)

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Integration of Fourier’s and Fick’s laws for steady-state conductive transport

At a steady-state, all the properties that define the ‘state’ of the system
(temperature, pressure, chemical composition, etc.) remain constant with time.
They may vary with location within the system. Keeping in mind that, at a steady
state, the temperature and the concentration depend only on the location (z), one
can re-write Equations below as ordinary differential equations

The boundary conditions for the integration of Equations are;

Assuming that thermal conductivity k does not change considerably with the
temperature and that the diffusivity is independent of concentration, integration
gives
(Eq. 1.1)

(Eq. 1.2)

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Example 3.1
Calculate the rate of heat transfer through a 3 x 4 m concrete wall. One face of
the 0.2 m thick wall is at 22°C and the other face is at 35°C. The thermal
conductivity of the concrete is 1.1 W.m -1. K -1.

Solution:
Steady-state is assumed and Equation 1.1 is applied:

Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and molecular diffusivity

Thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity

Thermal conductivity is a property of the material. It varies with temperature
and is strongly pressure-dependent in the case of gases. In the SI system, its
units are w/m K. Within a narrow range of temperatures, the temperature
dependence of the thermal conductivity is approximated by the linear
equation k = K 0 (1 + aT), provided that no phase change (melting of fats,
gelation etc.) occurs. Thermal diffusivity α is a useful concept in heat transfer
analysis. It is defined as the ratio of thermal conductivity to the ‘volumetric
heat capacity ’of the material. Volumetric heat capacity is obtained by
multiplying the mass-specific heat Cp by the density ρ.

Physically, thermal diffusivity can be interpreted as the ratio of the material’s

ability to transfer heat to its capacity to store heat. The SI units for thermal
diffusivity are m 2 .s -1

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Approximate representative values of the thermal conductivity and thermal

diffusivity of some materials are given in Table 3.1. One of the methods proposed
for the evaluation of the thermal conductivity of food material from its
composition is illustrated in the Example below.
Example:
Based on experimental data, Sweat (1986) (cited by Singh and Heldman, 2003),
suggested the following equation for the calculation of the thermal conductivity of
foods:

where X represents mass fraction, c =carbohydrate, p = protein, f = fat, a = ash, w

= water
Calculate the thermal conductivity of meatloaf containing 21% protein, 12% fat,
10% carbohydrates, 1.5% ash, 55.5% water

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Examples of steady-state conductive heat and mass transfer process.

a. Steady-state conduction through a single slab : consider a slab of
homogeneous material between two parallel planes, a distance z apart

Let T 1 and T 2 be the temperature at the two planes. Both temperatures

are assumed constant with time.
According to Eq. (3.1) the rate of heat transfer through the slab is given by

At steady state, the heat flux q/A is the same at any plane perpendicular to the
direction of heat flow. It follows that the temperature distribution across the slab
is linear.
b. Steady-state conduction through a multilayer slab, the total resistance of
resistances in series: consider a composite slab formed by several layers of
material, each with a different thermal conductivity.

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Let their thickness be: z 1 , z 2 , z 3 … z n and their thermal conductivities k 1

, k 2 , k 3 … k n At steady state, the heat flux through any plane
perpendicular to the direction of heat transfer must be equal:

What would be the thermal conductivity K of a homogeneous slab of

thickness Z, equal to that of the multilayer slab that would produce the
same heat flux when submitted to the same overall temperature difference
T 1 – T f?

Eq. 1.3

We define the ratio z/k as thermal resistance. Equation (1.3) then means that the
total thermal resistance of a composite conductor consisting of several conductors
in series is equal to the sum of the individual thermal resistances. The same
conclusion is valid for mass transfer or, for that matter, for any kind of transfer (c.f.
electricity). In the same manner, resistance to mass transfer is defined as z/D.

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Example
The external wall of a cold storage room is made of 3 layers, as follows, from the
inside out:

The inside face is at - 18°C. The outside face is at 20°C

Calculate the heat flux through the wall and the temperature at the insulator–
concrete interface.

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Lesson 2

 Convective heat and mass transfer

Convective Heat and Transfer

Heat and mass transfer in fluids occur, almost always, simultaneously with the bulk
movement of the medium. We define two kinds of convection:

Natural (or free) convection: the movement is caused by heat or the mass transfer
itself, usually by virtue of density differences. Consider a hot stove in a cold room.
Air in contact with the stove surface is heated, expands, becomes less dense, moves
upwards, and is replaced by colder, heavier air. Natural circular ‘ convection
currents ’ continue to move the air, as long as temperature differences exist in the
room. The same type of density-driven currents would occur and be observed in an
unstirred cup of tea to which a spoonful of sugar has been added.

Forced convection: fluid movement (flow) is caused by factors independent of the

transfer. Consider the stove-room model, this time with a fan blowing the air over
the stove or the cup of tea, stirred with a spoon.

The heat flow equation based on Newton’s law of cooling may be expressed as:
q= hs A (Ts-Ta)
where: Ts= temperature of surface
Ta= fluid bulk temperature
A=surface area of the solid

Table1. Some approximate values of convection heat transfer coefficient

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Lesson 3

 Heat Transfer by Radiation

The term radiation covers a vast array of phenomena that involve energy transport
in the form of waves. In this section, we deal only with a particular kind of radiation,
called thermal radiation. Thermal radiation refers to electromagnetic radiation in
the wavelength range of 10 7 to 10
4 m and encompasses mainly the range of infrared radiation. It is so-called because
its practically sole effect is thermal, i.e. cooling of the emitting body and heating of
the receiving body. Above the absolute temperature of zero °K, all substances emit
electromagnetic radiation. The intensity and the ‘ color ’ (wavelength distribution)
of the radiation strongly depend on the temperature of the source. In contrast with
conduction and convection, heat transfer by radiation does not require the presence
of a material medium.

Radiation heat Exchange between surfaces

• Radiation, in itself, is not heat. It is converted to heat and causes thermal
effects only after it is absorbed by a body
• Thermal radiation has very low penetration power. Thermal radiant energy
is absorbed by a thin layer of an opaque body. From there on, further
penetration of heat occurs by convection and conduction. Therefore, in
bodies with high internal resistance to heat transfer, radiation creates a
large difference of temperature between the surface and the interior of the
body. This property is advantageously utilized in many instances such as the
formation of crust in bread baking
• Since the interaction between radiation and matter occurs at the surface,
absorbtivity and emissivity are properties of the surface. The treatment and
state of the surface (e.g. polishing) strongly affect these properties.
Radiation heat Transfer
• Occurs between two surfaces by the emission and latter absorption of
electromagnetic waves (or photons)
• Requires no physical medium for its propagation
• Liquids are strong absorbers of radiation
• Solids are opaque to thermal radiation

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Lesson 4

 Heat Exchangers

Heat Exchangers

Heat exchangers are devices for the exchange of heat between two fluids separated
by a heat-conducting partition. Heat exchangers are extensively used in the food
industry for heating (e.g. pasteurizers), cooling (chilled water generators), and heat-
induced phase change (freezing, evaporation). Each one of the two fluids may be
confined or unconfined (free), stagnant or flowing. The partition is a heat-
conducting solid wall, usually made of metal. The design of a heat exchanger usually
involves two main domains, namely thermal analysis and hydraulic calculations. This
section will deal only with the thermal performance of heat exchangers.

Heat Exchangers in the food process industry

Although heating vessels and cooking kettles are, by definition, heat exchangers,
only continuous in-flow heat exchangers will be discussed in this section. Because
of the strict sanitary requirements, only a few of the many heat exchanger types
utilized in the process industry are suitable for food applications.

• Tubular heat exchangers: the simplest representative of this group consists

of a pair of concentric tubes ( Figures 3.13 and 3.14 ). For ease of cleaning,
the food product usually flows in the inner tube and the heating or cooling
medium in the outer annular space.

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• Shell-and-tube exchangers ( Figure 3.15 ) are tubular exchangers consisting

of bundles of parallel tubes inside a larger cylindrical jacket (shell). Again,
the product is fed to the tube side. In a recently developed type of tubular
exchanger, the tube wall is electrically heated. Tubular heat exchangers are
particularly suitable for heating or cooling highly viscous products and where
relatively high pressures must be applied. They are therefore utilized for the
bulk in-fl ow sterilization of products containing solid particles or for the
heat treatment of cooling of tomato paste prior to aseptic packaging.
Tubular heat exchangers are also the heat transfer component in tubular
evaporators (see Evaporation)

• Plate heat exchangers: originally developed for the pasteurization of milk,

plate heat exchangers ( Figure 3.16 ) are now used for a vast variety of
heating, cooling and evaporation applications in the food industry. They
consist of a stack of corrugated thin metal plates, pressed together so as to
form two continuous fl ow channels for the fl uids exchanging heat. Gaskets
are placed between the plates to prevent leakage. The advantages of the
plate heat exchangers are:
1. Flexibility: the capacity can be increased or decreased by adding
or removing plates
2. Sanitation: by opening the stack, both sides of the entire exchange
area are made accessible for cleaning and inspection
3. High heat transfer coeffi cient, due to increased turbulence in the
narrow fl ow channel
4. Compactness: high exchange surface to volume ratio. On the other
hand, the narrow size of the fl ow channels results in high pressure
drop and limits its use to low viscosity fl uids not containing large
suspended particles. The need for gaskets is also a disadvantage.

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• Scraped surface heat exchangers: they consist of a jacketed cylinder

equipped with a central rotating dasher with scraping blades ( Figure 3.17 ).
They can be horizontal or vertical. The product is fed into the cylinder. The
rapidly (600–700 rpm) rotating dasher spreads, scrapes and moves the
product as a fi lm over the wall. The heating or cooling fl uid is fed into the
jacket. Scraped surface heat exchangers are used for heating and cooling
highly viscous fl uids and for slush-freezing. Continuous ice cream freezers
and slush freezers are, essentially, scraped surface heat exchangers with a
refrigerant evaporating in the jacket. The scraped surface exchanger is an
expensive piece of equipment, both in price and in operating cost (moving
parts).

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