CHE-355L Separation Process-I

Determining the liquid diffusion coefficient of NaCl solution

in distilled water

Grading
Obtained Marks:
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Lab Report

Submitted By
Name Registration No.
Abdullah Afridi 11-3-1-001-2021
Ahmad Kamal Shaheryar 11-3-1-003-2021
Ahmad Yar 11-3-1-004-2021
Ali Ahmad 11-3-1-005-2021
Bilal Janjua

Department of Chemical Engineering

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences
P. O. Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan
 Table of Contents
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ iii

List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. iv

Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... v

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1

1. Factors affecting diffusivity: ................................................................................................ 1

2. Diffusion in Liquids ............................................................................................................. 1

3. Applications ......................................................................................................................... 1

Materials and Methods ................................................................................................................ 1

1. Experimental Setup .............................................................................................................. 1

2. Startup and Shutdown Procedure ......................................................................................... 1

3. Procedure of Experiment ..................................................................................................... 2

4. Safety Precautions ................................................................................................................ 2

5. Observation and Calculations .............................................................................................. 2

𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 1 𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝐿 .................................................................................................. 2

𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 2 𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝐿 .................................................................................................. 6

𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 4 𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝐿 .................................................................................................. 7

Results and Discussion ................................................................................................................... 9

4. Results .................................................................................................................................. 9

5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 9

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 10

References ..................................................................................................................................... 11

References ..................................................................................................................................... 11

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 List of Figures
Figure 1 Conductivity v/s time for 1M NaCl Solution ................................................................... 4
Figure 2 Conductivity v/s Concentration for NaCl ......................................................................... 5
Figure 3 Conductivity v/s time for 2M NaCl Solution ................................................................... 6
Figure 4 Conductivity v/s time for 4M NaCl Solution ................................................................... 8

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 List of Tables
Table 1 Experimental Data for 1M NaCl Solution ......................................................................... 3
Table 2 Experimental Data for 2M NaCl Solution ......................................................................... 6
Table 3 Experimental Data for 4M NaCl Solution ......................................................................... 7
Table 4 Experiment Results for Diffusivity Coefficient ................................................................. 9

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 Abstract
Using a liquid diffusion apparatus, this study investigates various aspects of diffusion processes in
solutions containing different amounts of sodium chloride (NaCl). Diffusion coefficients of 1, 2,
and 4 molar NaCl solutions were calculated and found to be, respectively, 15.15 cm³/min, 14.490
cm²/min, and 613.06 cm²/min. The observations highlight a complex relationship between
parameters controlling the diffusion dynamics in solutions with varying molarities. The increased
diffusion coefficient at larger molarities suggests intricate relationships that may go beyond
traditional Fickian behavior, hence requiring additional investigation into the effects of molecules
and surroundings on mass movement. This study provides insights that are beneficial to various
scientific fields and provides a sophisticated understanding of diffusion phenomena that are
dependent on concentration.
Keywords: Diffusion, Sodium Chloride, Diffusion Coefficient, Fickian Behavior, Mass Transport

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 Introduction

Materials and Methods

1. Experimental Setup

 Liquid Diffusion Coefficient Apparatus

 Diffusion Cell
 Conductivity Meters

2. Startup and Shutdown Procedure

Pre-experiment Procedures
 Read and understood the theory of liquid diffusion.
 Read and understood the equipment used in the experiment (liquid diffusion coefficient
apparatus). Read the safety precautions before we conducted the experiment.
 Prepared the following materials needed for the experiment:
1. Prepared 200 mL 1 M NaCl solution.
2. Prepared 200 mL 2 M NaCl solution.
3. Prepared 200 mL 4 M NaCl solution.

General Start-Up Procedures

 Filled the diffusion vessel with 1.1 L of distilled/de-ionized water.
 Plugged in the main cable to electrical supply. Ensure that the supply voltage is correctly
suit the equipment.
 Pressed the ON button on the conductivity meter.
 Switched ON the magnetic stirrer and set the speed knob to 760 rpm.
 Read the conductivity value.
 The equipment was ready for the experiment.
General Shutdown Procedures
 Switched OFF the magnetic stirrer and conductivity meter.

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  Drained the solution in the diffusion vessel and cell and rinsed them.
 Salt solution may attack the metal part of the equipment. Wiped off spillage from the unit
immediately

3. Procedure of Experiment
 Started-up the unit according to procedures
 Filled the diffusion cell with 1 M NaCl solution. Ensure that the capillary tubes are in
place. Completely filled the cell and wipe off any excess solution.
 Carefully immersed the cell into the distilled water and position the cell until the top of
the capillaries is about 5 mm below the water level.
 Switched ON the conductivity meter and the magnetic stirrer.
 After 5 minutes, recorded the conductivity reading. Took readings every 5 minute intervals
for 25 minutes.
 Repeated the above mentioned procedure for 2 M and 4 M NaCl solutions.

4. Safety Precautions
 All operating instructions supplied with the unit must be carefully read and understood
before attempting to operate the unit.
 Feed stock which severely affects PTFE, PFA, PVC and borosilicate glass are not to be
used.
 The system should not be subjected to shock, sudden impact, vibration, additional load, or
permanent external action of aggressive vapors
 Always check and rectify any leak.
 Do not use any coarse or abrasive cleaners on glass and plastic components.
 Leaking couplings or fittings should be carefully retightened

5. Observation and Calculations

𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒂𝑪𝒍 = 𝟏 𝒎𝒐𝒍/𝑳
𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 0.2 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 = 11.68 𝑔
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 0.2 𝐿 = 200𝑐𝑚3

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 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = 0.1 𝑐𝑚
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = 1 𝑐𝑚
𝑁𝑜 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 = 306
𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 28𝜇𝑆

Table 1 Experimental Data for 1M NaCl Solution

𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆(𝒎𝒊𝒏) 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚(𝝁𝑺)
5 747
10 773
15 786
20 790
25 813

𝟒𝑽𝒙 𝒅𝒌
𝑫=
𝝅𝒅𝟐 𝑵𝑴𝑪𝑴 𝒅𝒕
𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆,
𝑽 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝐷𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑉𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙 (𝑳)
𝒙 = 𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 (𝒄𝒎)
𝒅 = 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (𝒄𝒎)
𝑵 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠
𝒎𝒐𝒍
𝑴 = 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝐶𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ( )
𝑳

𝑪𝑴 = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒

𝒅𝒌
= 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝝁𝑺⁄𝒎𝒊𝒏)
𝒅𝒕

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 Figure 1 Conductivity v/s time for 1M NaCl Solution

From Graph
𝒌 = 𝟑. 𝟎𝟐(𝒕) + 𝟕𝟑𝟔. 𝟗
Slope of the line is
𝒅𝒌
= 𝟑. 𝟎
𝒅𝒕

The value of CM is obtained by the slope of the plot between concentration of NaCl (M) and
Thermal Conductivity

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 Figure 2 Conductivity v/s Concentration for NaCl

From Figure we got 𝑪𝑴 value 𝟖𝟎. 𝟗𝟓𝟗 𝒎𝑺⁄𝒎𝒐𝒍 . 𝒄𝒎

Putting the values we got

𝟒(𝟏)(𝟏)
𝑫= (𝟑. 𝟎𝟐)
𝝅(𝟎. 𝟏)𝟐 (𝟑𝟎𝟔)(𝟏)(𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟎𝟗𝟓𝟗)

𝑫 = 𝟏𝟓. 𝟓𝟏𝟓 𝒄𝒎𝟐 ⁄𝒎𝒊𝒏

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 𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒂𝑪𝒍 = 𝟐 𝒎𝒐𝒍/𝑳

Table 2 Experimental Data for 2M NaCl Solution

𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆(𝒎𝒊𝒏) 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚(𝝁𝑺)
5 716
10 727
15 750
20 759
25 778

Figure 3 Conductivity v/s time for 2M NaCl Solution

From Graph
𝒌 = 𝟑. 𝟏𝟐(𝒕) + 𝟔𝟗𝟗. 𝟐

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Slope of the line is
𝒅𝒌
= 𝟑. 𝟏𝟐
𝒅𝒕

Putting the values we got

𝟒(𝟏)(𝟏)
𝑫= (𝟑. 𝟏𝟐)
𝝅(𝟎. 𝟏)𝟐 (𝟑𝟎𝟔)(𝟏)(𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟗𝟓𝟗)

𝑫 = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟒𝟗𝟎 𝒄𝒎𝟐 ⁄𝒎𝒊𝒏

𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒂𝑪𝒍 = 𝟒 𝒎𝒐𝒍/𝑳

Table 3 Experimental Data for 4M NaCl Solution

𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆(𝒎𝒊𝒏) 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚(𝝁𝑺)
2 670
4 810
6 1151
8 1339
10 1426

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 Figure 4 Conductivity v/s time for 4M NaCl Solution

From Graph
𝒌 = 𝟏𝟑𝟐(𝒕) + 𝟐𝟐𝟔. 𝟗
Slope of the line is
𝒅𝒌
= 𝟏𝟑𝟐
𝒅𝒕

Putting the values we got

𝟒(𝟐𝟎𝟎)(𝟏)
𝑫= (𝟏𝟑𝟐)
𝝅(𝟎. 𝟏)𝟐 (𝟑𝟎𝟔)(𝟏)(𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝟗𝟓𝟗)

𝑫 = 𝟔𝟏𝟑. 𝟎𝟔 𝒄𝒎𝟐 /𝒎𝒊𝒏

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 Results and Discussion

4. Results
The diffusion coefficient values obtained for the different molarities of NaCl solutions are as
follows:
Table 4 Experiment Results for Diffusivity Coefficient
𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 (𝑴) 𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕(𝒄𝒎𝟐 ⁄𝒎𝒊𝒏)
1 15.15
2 14.49
4 613.06

These findings show that when the molarity of the NaCl solution rises, the diffusion coefficient
noticeably increases. The trend that has been observed indicates that increased solute particle
concentrations lead to improved diffusion rates.

5. Discussion
The results found are consistent with diffusion in solutions theory. A few examples of the variables
that affect the diffusion coefficient are temperature, molecular weight, and concentration gradient.
In this experiment, a steeper concentration gradient that encourages faster solute particle
movement may be the cause of the increased diffusion coefficient with increasing molarity.

Notable is the significant increase in diffusion coefficient from 2 M to 4 M NaCl solutions. This
might be a sign of a change in diffusion behavior from Fickian to non-Fickian, where solvent
structure and molecular interactions play a bigger role. Additional examination and juxtaposition
with recognized diffusion theories may yield more profound understandings of these noted
tendencies.
Possible Sources of Error:
 The initial value of the conductivity is not zero.
 We used might be tap water, so it does not give 0 initial conductivity.

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  It is hard to fill in the NaCl solution into the diffusion cell as there are air bubbles trapped
within the cell. When more solution is poured into the cell, it spilled out from the
capillaries.
 There might be an error in the preparation of the NaCl solution. When we weigh the NaCl,
the reading fluctuates, and we can only take the average reading. Moreover, there might be
leftover residues in the volumetric flask. Therefore, the molar concentration of the solution
might not be exact.
 The diffusion cell is not cleaned well
Correction
 Use distilled water when the conductivity meter shows a 0 reading •
 Use a porous plate
 Clean the diffusion cell before use
 Use more than one conductivity sensor at various depths
 Check for minimum contact with the surroundings
 Note readings at eye level to avoid parallax error
 Remove air bubbles from capillaries

Conclusion
The purpose of this experiment was to examine the relationship between conductivity versus time.
Which there is a concentration difference between two or more components, there will be a
tendency for each component to flow in such a direction as to reduce the concentration gradient.
As time increases, the conductivity, k will also increase because the number of sodium chloride
and NaCl molecules which diffuse in water increased. But, as the time approach infinity, the value
of conductivity will be constant

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 References

References

[1] R. Gupta, "Four Things That Affect Rate of Diffusion," 16 February 2020. [Online].
Available: https://sciencing.com/four-things-affect-rate-diffusion-8348637.html.
[2] A. M. d. O. Siqueira, "Determination of the diffusion coefficient in sodium chloride solution
at," The Journal of Engineering and Exact Sciences, vol. 8, p. 15, 2022.

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