UNIT – V

GAS MIXTURES AND PSYCHOMETRY

COMPOSITION OF GAS MIXTURES

There are two ways used to describe

in composition of mixtures.
Mass fraction
Molar fraction
 MASS FRACTION

 The mass fraction of any component is defined as the

ratio of mass of a component to the mass of the
mixture mathematically.
xi =
 If a gas mixture consists of gases 1,2,3 and so on, the
mass of the mixture is the sum of masses of the
individual component gases.
mm = m1+m2+m3+…..+mi
 MOLAR FRACTION

 It is defined as the ratio of the molar number of

a component to the mole number of the mixture.
or

 The total number of moles of a mixture is the

sum of the number of its component.
Nm = N1+N2+N3+…..+Ni
 PARTIAL PRESSURE

 The sum of partial pressure of the components of a

gas mixture is equal to the mixture pressure.
 The partial pressure pi of a component i in a gas
mixture is given by,
p i = yi p m
where, yi = mole fraction
pm = mixture pressure
pi = y i pm
 PARTIAL VOLUME

 The sum of the partial volumes of the

components of a gas mixtures is equal to the
volume of the mixture. The partial volume V i of
a component i in a gas mixture is given by
Vi = yiVm
Where Vi = Mixture Volume
Vi = yiVm
 DALTON'S LAW OF PARTIAL
PRESSURE

 Dalton's Law, states that the total pressure of a gas in a

container is the sum of the partial pressures of the
individual gases in the container.
pm = p1+p2+p3+…..pk =

Where pm = Mixture pressure

p1+p2+p3+…..pk = each component pressure

pm Vm = (NA+NB+NC) Tm
For the mixture (A+B) PmV  N m RT
For component A PAV  N A RT
For component B PBV  N B RT
Pm V PA V PB V
Nm  N A  NB   
RT RT RT
Therefore for the Dalton’s model: Pm  PA  PB
k
The general form is:
Pm   Pi Tm , Vm 
i 1
PA and PB are the partial pressures. We can show that,
PA N PB NB
 A  y A and   yB
Pm Nm Pm Nm
 AMAGAT’S LAW OF PARTIAL
VOLUME

 For a mixture of non-reacting gases the sum of partial

volumes of these gases is equal to total volume of the
mixture at constant temperature and pressure.
Vm = V1+V2+V3+…..Vk =

Where Vm = volume of mixture

V1,V2,V3 = volume of each component

pm Vm = (NA+NB+NC) Tm
For the mixture (A+B) PVm  N m RT
For component A PVA  N A RT
For component B PVB  N B RT
P Vm P V A P VB
Nm  N A  NB   
RT RT RT
Therefore for the Amagat’s model: V
m  VA  VB
k
The general form is: V  V T , P 
m  i m m
i 1

VA and VB are the partial volumes.

 PROPERTIES OF GAS MIXTURES

 PRESSURE
Using Dalton's law of partial pressure, the pressure of a mixture is
the sum of pressures of each component at the temperature and
volume of the mixture.
 VOLUME
Using Amagat’s law of partial volumes, the volume of mixture is the
sum of volume of each component at the temperature and pressure
of the mixture.
 TEMPERATURE
At any uniform mixture, the temperature is same for each
component of the mixture
 INTERNAL ENERGY

 ENTHALPY

 ENTROPY
 SPECIFIC HEATS
 MIXTURE OF REAL GASES

Dalton’s law and Amagat’s law can also be applied to real gases
(non-ideal gases) with a reasonable accuracy. However, the deviation
from the ideal gas law must be taken into account by:
•Using more appropriate (and complex) relations for a real gas.
•Using the compressibility factor (Z)
PV  ZNRU T
For a mixture, Zm can be computed as:
k
mole number of a component N i
Z m   yi Z i Where, yi  
i 1 mole number of the mixture Nm
PSYCHROMETRY
 PSYCHROMETRY

 Psychrometry is the branch of engineering science which

deals with study of moist air i.e. dry air mixed with
water vapour.
 It also includes the study of behavior of dry air and water
vapour mixture under various set of conditions.
 Though the earth’s atmosphere is the mixture of oxygen,
argon, carbon-di-oxide, yet the purpose of the
psychrometry is considered to be the mixture of dry air
and water vapour only.
 PSYCHROMETRIC PROPERTIES
 Dry air
 Moist air
 Saturation capacity of air
 Moisture
 Dry bulb temperature (DBT)
 Wet bulb temperature (WBT)
 Wet bulb depression (WBD)
 Dew point temperature (DPT)
 Dew point depression (DPD)
 Specific humidity (or) humidity ratio (or) moisture content
 Degree of saturation (or) percentage saturation (or) saturation ratio
 Relative humidity
 Total enthalpy
 Contd…

DRY AIR
It is nothing but the air without moisture or water vapour.
MOIST AIR
it is the mixture of dry air and water vapour. The amount of
water vapour varies with temperature.
SATURATION OF CAPACITY OF AIR
The maximum quantity of water vapour in the air at particular
air temperature is known as saturation capacity of air.
MOISTURE
The water vapour present in the air is known as moisture.
 Contd…

Dry bulb temperature (DBT)

The temperature recorded by the thermometer with a dry
bulb. The dry bulb thermometer cannot affected by the moisture
present in the air. It is the measure of sensible heat of the air.
Wet bulb temperature (WBT)
It is the temperature recorded by a thermometer whose bulb is
covered with cotton wick (wet) saturated with water. The wet bulb
temperature may be the measure of enthalpy of air.
WET BULB DEPRESSION
WBD = DBT - WBT
 Contd…

DEW POINT TEMPERATURE

The temperature at which the vapour starts condensing is
called dew point temperature. It is also equal to the saturation
temperature at the partial pressure of water vapour in the mixture.
DEW POINT DEPRESSION
It is the difference between dry bulb temperature and dew
point temperature of air vapour mixture.
SPECIFIC HUMIDITY
It is defined as the ratio of the mass of water vapour (m v) in a
given volume to the mass of dry air in a given volume (ma).
 Contd…

DEGREE OF SATURATION
It is the ratio of the actual specific humidity and the saturated
specific humidity at the same temperature of the mixture.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
It is defined as the ratio of partial pressure of water vapour (p w) in
a mixture to the saturation pressure (ps) of pure water at the same
temperature of mixture.
TOTAL ENTHALPY OF MOIST AIR
it is defined as the sum of the enthalpy of dry air and the enthalpy
of water vapour associated with the dry air.
H = C p td + h g
 PSYCHROMETRIC CHART

 A Psychrometric chart graphically represents the

thermodynamic properties of moist air. Standard
psychrometric charts are bounded by the dry-bulb
temperature line (abscissa) and the vapour pressure or
humidity ratio (ordinate). The Left Hand Side of the
psychrometric chart is bounded by the saturation line.
DRY BULB TEMPERATURE LINES
WET BULB TEMPERTURE LINES
DEW POINT TEMPERATURE LINES
SPECIFIC HUMIDITY LINES
ENTHALPY LINES
RELATIVE HUMIDITY LINES
SPECIFIC VOLUME LINES
 ADIABATIC SATURATION
PROCESS

Phenomenon of adiabatic saturation of air is applicable to

convective drying of food materials.

Adiabatic condition
 Well insulated chamber: no heat gain and loss
 Air is allowed to contact a large surface area of water
 Part of sensible heat of entering air is transformed into
latent heat
 Process of evaporation water into the air results
in saturation by converting part of sensible heat
of the entering air into latent heat
PSYCHROMETRIC PROCESSES
 Sensible heating process
 Sensible cooling process
 Humidification process
 Dehumidification process
 Heating and humidification process
 Cooling and dehumidification process
 Adiabatic mixing air stream process
 Evaporative cooling process
 SENSIBLE HEATING PROCESS

 During this process, the moisture content of air

remains constant and its temperature increases as it
flows over a heating coil. The heat transfer rate during
this process is given by:

where c is the humid specific heat (≈1.0216 kJ/kg dry air)

and mpma is the mass flow rate of dry air (kg/s)
 SENSIBLE COOLING PROCESS

 During this process, the moisture content of air remains

constant but its temperature decreases as it flows over a
cooling coil.
 For moisture content to remain constant, the surface of the
cooling coil should be dry and its surface temperature should
be greater than the dew point temperature of air.
 If the cooling coil is 100% effective, then the exit
temperature of air will be equal to the coil temperature.
However, in practice, the exit air temperature will be higher
than the cooling coil temperature.
Qc = ma (ho – hA) = ma cpm (To - TA)
HUMIDIFICATION PROCESS
DEHUMIDIFICATION PROCESS
 HEATING AND HUMIDIFICATION
PROCESS

 During winter it is essential to heat and humidify

the room air for comfort.
 This is normally done by first sensibly heating
the air and then adding water vapour to the air
stream through steam nozzles.
where m is the mass flow rate of dry air.

From energy balance:

 COOLING AND
DEHUMIDIFICATION PROCESS

 When moist air is cooled below its dew-point by bringing it

in contact with a cold surface. Some of the water vapor in the
air condenses and leaves the air stream as liquid, as a result
both the temperature and humidity ratio of air decreases as
shown.
 This is the process air undergoes in a typical air conditioning
system. Although the actual process path will vary depending
upon the type of cold surface, the surface temperature, and
flow conditions, for simplicity the process line is assumed to
be a straight line.
 The heat and mass transfer rates can be expressed in
terms of the initial and final conditions by applying the
conservation of mass and conservation of energy
equations as given below:
 By applying mass balance for the water:
 ADIABATIC MIXING AIR STREAM
PROCESS

 Mixing of air streams at different states is commonly

encountered in many processes, including in air conditioning.
Depending upon the state of the individual streams, the
mixing process can take place with or without condensation
of moisture.
 i) Without condensation: An adiabatic mixing of two moist
air streams during which no condensation of moisture takes
place. As shown in the figure, when two air streams at state
points 1 and 2 mix, the resulting mixture condition 3 can be
obtained from mass and energy balance.
ii) Mixing with condensation:
 When very cold and dry air mixes with warm air at high
relative humidity, the resulting mixture condition may lie
in the two-phase region, as a result there will be
condensation of water vapor and some amount of water
will leave the system as liquid water.
 Due to this, the humidity ratio of the resulting mixture
(point 3) will be less than that at point 4.
 Corresponding to this will be an increase in temperature
of air due to the release of latent heat of condensation.
This process rarely occurs in an air conditioning system,
but this is the phenomenon which results in the formation
of fog or frost (if the mixture temperature is below 0 oC).
 This happens in winter when the cold air near the earth
mixes with the humid and warm air, which develops
towards the evening or after rains.
 ADIABATIC EVAPORATING
COOLING

 Adiabatic evaporating cooling is a device for conditioning

air. In adiabatic evaporating cooling air comes in direct
contact with a spray of water and there will be an exchange of
heat and mass (water vapour) between air and water.
 The outlet condition of air depends upon the temperature of
water sprayed in the adiabatic evaporating cooling. Hence,
by controlling the water temperature externally, it is possible
to control the outlet conditions of air, which then can be used
for air conditioning purposes.
 In adiabatic evaporating cooling, the mean temperature
of water droplets in contact with air decides the direction
of heat and mass transfer.
 As a consequence of the 2nd law, the heat transfer
between air and water droplets will be in the direction of
decreasing temperature gradient. Similarly, the mass
transfer will be in the direction of decreasing vapor
pressure gradient