Introduction to Mass Transfer

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

 Mass Transfer Introduction
•Mass transfer is a transport of components under a chemical potential
gradient.

•The component moves to the direction of reducing chemical potential

gradient. The transport occurs from a region of higher concentration to
lower concentration. Equilibrium is reached when the gradient is zero.

•In other words, The transport or migration of one constituent from a

region of higher concentration to that of a lower concentration is known as
mass transfer.

•A group of operations for separating the components of mixtures is based

on the transfer of material from one homogeneous phase to another, is
called as mass transfer operations.

• Techniques like gas absorption and stripping, liquid-liquid extraction,

leaching, distillation, humidification, drying, crystallization and number of
other separation techniques.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Types of Contact
1. Gas or Vapour-Liquid contact
2. Liquid-Liquid contact
3. Solid-Liquid contact
4. Gas-Solid contact

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Diffusion

• Spreading of ink in water

• Fragrance of flowers reaches out to every corner

The transport of molecules from higher concentration to a lower concentration

In a stagnant medium occurs by a mechanism called molecular diffusion, while in
Turbulent medium the phenomenon called eddy diffusion or turbulent diffusion.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Concentration

Velocity

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Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Fick’s Law: The law states that the molar flux of a species relative to an
observer moving with molar average velocity is proportional to the
concentration gradient of the species.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
 A steady state molecular diffusion through a
constant area in a binary system
Assumptions:
• Th area through which diffusion occurs is constant
• The gas mixture is ideal
• The temperature is uniform
• The diffusion occurs at steady state

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Diffusion of A through non-diffusing B

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Example 2.2: There is a 2 mm thick layer of water on the floor of a
room. The water vaporizes and diffuses through a stagnant film of air
of estimated thickness of 2.5 mm on the water surface. Under the
condition of evaporation, the water temperature is essentially equal to
its wet-bulb temperature. If the ambient temperature is 28°C, calculate
the time required for the water layer to disappear completely for the
following cases: (a) the ambient air has a relative humidity of 60%; and
(b) the floor has micropores and water penetrates the floor at a constant
rate of 0.1 kg/m2-h, the ambient air having a humidity as in part (a).
Read the wet-bulb temperature from the humidity chart and
calculate the vapour pressure of water using the Antoine equation given
below. The diffusivity of water vapour in air is 0.2567 cm2/s at 1 atm.
Vapour pressure, P. (in bar), of water is given by: In P =
13.8573 - 5160.2/T, where T is the temperature in K.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Unsolved 2.2: The water level in a large concrete reservoir is
found to drop by 20 mm over a period of 10 days. The average
temperature of water is 23°C and the average humidity of the
bulk air is 0.0135 kg per kg dry air. Permeation through the
concrete may be neglected. If loss of vapour occurs through a
stagnant film of air, calculate the thickness of this film. The
diffusivity of moisture in air under the given condition is 1.0 ft2/h
and the vapour pressure of water can be calculated using the
Antoine equation. In P = 13.8573 - 5160.2/T, where T is the
temperature in K.

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Equimolar Counter Diffusion

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Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Non-equimolar Counter Diffusion

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Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Pseudo-Steady State Diffusion of A
through Stagnant B

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Example 2.5: The diffusivity of benzene in air is measured by Stefan's method.
A vertical glass tube is filled with benzene to a depth of 20 mm from the top
open end. It took 190 hours for the level to fall to 80 mm from the top. The
temperature and pressure are maintained at 298 K and 100 kPa. Density of
liquid benzene is 875 kg/m3 and the vapour pressure of benzene is 12.6 kPa at
298 K. Calculate the diffusivity of benzene in air at 298 K.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Example 2.6: Diffusivity of chloroform in air at 298 K and 100 kPa is
measured by the Winkelmann's method. The fall in level is reported against
ume as given below:

The concentration of chloroform at the top of the tube may be assumed zero.
The density of chloroform liquid is 1485 kg/m and the vapour pressure of
chloroform at 298 K is 26 kPa. Find the diffusivity of chloroform in air.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Diffusion in Multicomponent Mixture
Example 2.8: Oxygen is diffusing through a non-diffusing gas mixture of
methane and hydrogen that are present in the mole ratio 2:1 at 100 kPa and
273 K. At this condition. the diffusivity of oxygen in methane is 1.86 x 10-5
m2/s and diffusivity of oxygen in hydrogen is 6.99 × 10-5 m2/s. Calculate the
rate of diffusion of oxygen per unit area across two planes 2 mm apart, if the
partial pressures of oxygen at these planes are 20 ka and 10 kPa, respectively.

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

 Diffusion in Liquid
• Molecular diffusion in a liquid is considerably slower than diffusion in gases.
• Molecules in a liquid are so closely packed that the molecules of the diffusing
solute A will collide with molecules of B more frequently than in gases and hence
diffusion in liquids becomes slower than that in gases.
• The order of magnitudes of the liquid diffusivities are smaller by 10-5 times than
the diffusivities of gases. However, the diffusion rates in the liquids are only about
10-3 times smaller than that in the gases, because the diffusion rate is dependent on
the product of the molar density and diffusivity for a given concentration gradient
and the molar density of a liquid is 103 times that of a gas.
• Because of the closer spacing of molecules the attractive forces between molecules
also have profound influence in liquid phase diffusion.
• Since the kinetic theory of liquids is not yet fully developed, diffusion rates in
liquids are estimated using equations analogous to those used for gases.
• In the case of binary gases, the assumption of constant concentration and
diffusivity introduce little error: it is not so for liquids. The diffusivity as well as
densities in liquids vary appreciably with concentration. Since this relationship is
not accurately known, average values
Dr Manishare used
Kumar Sinha for concentration and diffusivity.
 Diffusion in Liquid
Example 2.9: Calculate the rate of diffusion of sodium chloride at
298 K through a stationary film of water 1 mm thick where the
concentrations are 20 (weight)% and 8 (weight)%, respectively
on either side of the film. The diffusivity of sodium chloride in
water is 1.35 x 10-9 m2/s. Densities of 20% and 8% NaCI solutions
are 1145.3 kg/m3 and 1054.1 kg/m3, respectively.

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Diffusion through variable area (Sphere)

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Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Diffusion Through Tapered Tube

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Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Predictive equation for gas phase diffusivity

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Predictive equation for liquid phase diffusivity

Wilke-Chang Equation

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha

Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha
Dr Manish Kumar Sinha