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SP 1 Assignment 30 March 2022

1. The document provides information and questions regarding diffusion and mass transfer theories, interphase mass transfer, and absorption and stripping processes. It includes calculations related to diffusion rates through tubes and vessels, mass transfer coefficients, and determining minimum flow rates and transfer units for absorption and stripping columns. 2. Questions involve calculating diffusion rates, mass fluxes, times for pressure changes, and coefficients for a variety of gas absorption and liquid stripping scenarios and geometries. 3. Equilibrium relationships and mass transfer fundamentals are applied to absorption of ammonia from air into water and stripping of ammonia from an aqueous waste stream using air.

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159 views2 pages

SP 1 Assignment 30 March 2022

1. The document provides information and questions regarding diffusion and mass transfer theories, interphase mass transfer, and absorption and stripping processes. It includes calculations related to diffusion rates through tubes and vessels, mass transfer coefficients, and determining minimum flow rates and transfer units for absorption and stripping columns. 2. Questions involve calculating diffusion rates, mass fluxes, times for pressure changes, and coefficients for a variety of gas absorption and liquid stripping scenarios and geometries. 3. Equilibrium relationships and mass transfer fundamentals are applied to absorption of ammonia from air into water and stripping of ammonia from an aqueous waste stream using air.

Uploaded by

ONKAR ARORA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani

Second Semester 2021-22


CHE F244 Separation Processes I
Assignment No.1
(Due on 13.04.2022)

Diffusion and Mass Transfer Theories


1. A 2- liter bulb contains carbon dioxide gas at atmospheric pressure and 25 ℃. The bulb has a side
tube, 3 cm long and 5 mm in diameter, open to the ambient (Figure 1) at the same temperature and
pressure. How long will it take for half of the gas to diffuse out of the bulb if the temperature occurs
at pseudo-steady state? The temperature is 25 ℃ and the pressure is atmospheric. The diffusivity
of CO2 in air is 1.62 x 10-5 m2/s.

Fig. 1. Diffusion of CO2 from a bulb

2. Two well-mixed vessels of volume V1 and V2 are connected by a tube, 1 cm in diameter and 6 cm
in length, fitted with a plug valve. The vessels are filled with a mixture of N2 and CO2 at 30 ℃ and
1.013 bar total pressure. The partial pressure of N2 in the vessels are 104 Pa and 8 x 104 Pa
respectively. The valve is opened and the gases are allowed to diffuse through the connecting tube.
(a) Calculate the molar flux of N2 with respect to a stationary observer if the vessels are very large.
also calculate the molar flux midway in the tube with respect to an observer moving at the
average velocity of the N2 molecules in the direction from vessel 1 to vessel 2.
(b) Calculate the rate of transport if the connecting tube is tapered having end diameters 10 mm
(vessel 1 side) and 20 mm (vessel 2 side) and is 6 cm in length.
(c) Recalculate the change in the rate of transport in part (b) if the tube joins the vessels in the
reverse way (i.e., the 20 mm end is connected to vessel 1).
(d) Consider case (a). If the vessels have limited volume (V1 =5 liters and V2 = 3 liters), calculate
the time required for the partial pressure of N2 in vessel 1 to be doubled. Also calculate the
partial pressure of N2 midway of the connecting tube after 20 hours. Pseudo-steady diffusion
may be assumed.

3. Absorption of oxygen from an air bubble occurs in ‘pure’ water. Calculate the overall coefficients
Ky and Kx for the following cases: (a) The two-film model is applicable. The air-film thickness is 2
mm, and the water-film thickness is 0.02 mm. (b) The film model is applicable for the gas-phase
transport and the penetration model for transport in the liquid-phase. The contact time of a liquid
element with the gas is 1 s. Given: Diffusivity of O2 in air = 0.176 cm2/s, in water = 2.1 x 10-9 m2/s;
the equilibrium relation is p = 4.36 * 104x, p = partial pressure of O2 in atm; temperature = 298 K;
total pressure = 1 atm.
4. A beaker filled with an equimolar liquid mixture of ethyl alcohol and ethyl acetate evaporates at 0
℃into still air at 101 kPa (1 atm). Assuming Raoult’s law, what is the liquid composition when half
the ethyl alcohol has evaporated, assuming each component evaporates independently? Also
assume that the liquid is always well mixed. The following data are available:

Vapor Pressure, kPa at 0 ℃ Diffusivity in Air m2 /s


Ethyl acetate (EtAC) 3.23 6.45 x 10-6
Ethyl alcohol (EtAL) 1.62 9.29 x 10-6

5. Carbon dioxide is stripped from water by air in a wetted-wall tube. At a location where pressure is
10 atm and temperature 25 ℃, the flux of CO2 is 1.62 lbmol/h-ft2. The partial pressure of CO2 is
8.2 atm at the interface and 0.1 atm in the bulk gas. The diffusivity of CO2 in air at these conditions
is 1.6 x 10-2 cm2 /s. Assuming turbulent flow, calculate by film theory the mass-transfer coefficient
kc for the gas phase and the film thickness.
6. Hydrogen at 150 psia and 80 ͦ F is stored in a spherical, steel pressure vessel of inside diameter 4
inches and a wall thickness of 0.125 inch. The solubility of hydrogen in steel is 0.094 lbmol/ft3, and
the diffusivity of hydrogen in steel is 3.0 x 10-9 cm2 /s. If the inner surface of the vessel remains
saturated at the existing hydrogen pressure and the hydrogen partial pressure at the outer surface is
assumed to be zero, estimate the: (a) initial rate of mass transfer of hydrogen through the wall; (b)
initial rate of pressure decrease inside the vessel; and (c) time in hours for the pressure to decrease
to 50 psia, assuming the temperature stays constant at 80 ͦ F.

Interphase Mass Transfer


7. In the absorption of ammonia from air into water at 20oC, the slope of the equilibrium line is about
1.0. Estimate the fraction of the total resistance in the gas phase, assuming that the penetration
theory applied to both phases.
8. If the liquid film resistance is 5 times that of the gas film for a gas absorption process, by how much
would the rate of absorption change if the liquid film coefficient could be doubled without changing
other parameters? What would be the effect of doubling the gas-film coefficient?

Absorption and Stripping


9. An absorber is to recover 99% of the ammonia in the air-ammonia stream fed to it, using water as
the absorbing liquid. The ammonia content of the air is 20 mole%. Absorber temperature is to be
kept at 30oC by cooling coils; the pressure is 1 atm. (a) What is the minimum water rate? (b) For a
water rate 40% greater than the minimum, how many overall gas-phase transfer units are needed?
Refer to Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook 7th ed. p. 2-125 for the equilibrium data.
10. An aqueous waste stream containing 1 wt% ammonia is to be stripped with air in a packed column
to remove 99% of the ammonia. What is the minimum air rate, in kilograms of air per kilogram of
water, if the column operates at 20oC? How many transfer units are required at twice the minimum
rate? Refer to Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook 7th ed. p. 2-125 for the equilibrium data.
~

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