Mass Transfer

Previous Year Questions

GATE 1990 – 2021
Devendra Poonia
Q.1. In the absorption of solute gas from a mixture containing inert in a solvent,
it has been found that the overall gas transfer coefficient is nearly equal to the
individual gas film transfer coefficient. It may therefore be concluded that
(A) The process is liquid film controlled
(B) The gas is sparingly soluble in the solvent
(C) The transfer rate can be increased substantially by reducing the thickness of
the liquid film
(D) The transfer rate can be increased substantially by reducing the thickness of
the gas film GATE – 1990
Q.2. Consider a system in which component A is being transferred from a gas
phase to a liquid phase. The equilibrium relation is given by yA=0.75A , where yA
and xA are mole fractions of A in gas and liquid respectively. At one point in the
equipment, the gas contains 10 mole % A and the liquid 2 mole % A. Gas film
mass transfer coefficient ky at this point is 10 kg moles /(hr.m2 ΔyA ) and 80% of
the resistance is the gas film. Calculate
(a) The overall mass transfer coefficient in kg moles /(hr.m2 ΔyA)
(b) The mass flux of A in kg moles / hr.m2
(c) The interfacial gas concentration of A in mole fraction GATE – 1990
Q.3. A continuous rectification column is used to separate a binary mixture of A
and B. Distillate in produced at 100 kg mol/hr containing 98 mole% A. The mole
fractions of A in the liquid and in the vapor, x and y respectively, from two
adjacent ideal plates in the enriching section are as follows,
x y
0.65 0.82
0.56 0.76
If the latent heat of vaporization is the same for all mixtures and if the feed is a
saturated liquid, calculate
(a) The reflux ratio.
(b) Vapor rate in the striping section in kg moles /hr. GATE – 1990
Q.4. Minimum number of ideal stages is required in a fractionating column when
the reflux ratio is equal to
(A) Minimum reflux ratio
(B) Optimum reflex ratio
(C) Zero
(D) Infinity GATE – 1990
Q.5. A batch of material is dried under constant drying conditions. When drying
is taking place from all the surfaces, the rate of drying during the constant rate
period is
(A) Directly proportional to the solid thickness
(B) Independent of the solid thickness
(C) Inversely proportional to the solid thickness
(D) Directly proportional to the square of solid thickness GATE – 1990
Q.6. Drying of food is carried out in an insulated tray. The drying air has a partial
pressure of water equal to 2380 Pa and a wet bulb temperature of 30°C. The
product has a drying surface of 0.05 m2 /kg dry solid. The material has a critical
moisture content of 0.12 (dry basis) and negligible equilibrium moisture content.
The drying rate in falling rate period is proportional to the moisture content and
the mass transfer coefficient is 5.34 x 10-4 kg /m2 hr Pa.
Calculate
(a) The drying rate in the constant rate period in kg /m2 hr.
(b) The me required to dry the material from a moisture content of 0.22 to 0.06
(both on dry basis). Vapor pressure of water at 30°C = 4232 Pa. GATE – 1990
Q.7. The diffusion rate of ammonia from an aqueous solution to the gas phase is
10-3 kmol/m2 .s. The interface equilibrium pressure of NH3 is 660 N /m2 and the
concentration of NH3 in gas phase is 5%. If the total pressure is 101 N/m2 ,
temperature is 295 K and diffusivity of NH3 is 0.24 cm2/s, the gas film thickness
is __________ mm. GATE – 1991
Q.8. The Fick’s Second law of diffusion in one dimension is________________.
GATE – 1991
Q.9. Nitrogen from a cylinder is bubbled through acetone at 1.1 bar and 323 K at
the rate of 2 x10-4 m3/min. The nitrogen saturated with acetone vapor, leaves at
1.013 bar, 308 K at the rate of 3.83 x10-4 m3 /min. What is the vapor pressure of
acetone at 308 K?
GATE – 1991
Q.10. A continuous stream of a binary liquid mixture, containing xF mole fraction of A, in
fed into a flash distillation unit. Feed is represented by point Q on the enthalpy-
concentration diagram as shown in

GATE – 1991

(a) Obtain an expression for the ratio of vapor flow rate of feed flow rate in terms of
composition.
(b) Show that the heat added per mole of feed is given by the distance PQ (see Fig).
Q.11. An aqueous solution containing 1.5 kmol X/m3 is fed at 36 ml/s to the top
of packed column of height 1.60 m and cross sectional area of 0.0045 m2 and it
leaves at the boom with 1.4 kmol/m3 . An organic solvent, B, containing 0.008
kmol X/m3 flows counter to the aqueous phase at 9 ml/s. The equilibrium
relationship is
Cxorganic = 0.3 Cxaqueous
Determine:
(a) The log mean concentration difference for the transfer.
(b) The overall volumetric transfer coefficient, based on the organic phase.
(c) The height of transfer unit. GATE – 1991
Q.12. In drying a solid containing moisture above the critical moisture content,
the number of degrees of freedom is _____________. GATE – 1992
Q.13. In the McCabe-Thiele diagram for binary distillation, vertical feed line
represents _______________ feed and horizontal feed line represents
_____________ feed. GATE – 1992
Q.14. ______________ number in mass transfer corresponds to Nusselt number
to heat transfer and ___________ number to Prandtl number. GATE – 1992
Q.15. In small columns local efficiency is ___________ Murphree efficiency; in
large columns local efficiency is _____________ Murphree efficiency.
GATE – 1992
Q.16. Absorption towers are operated under conditions of
(A) low pressure, high temperature
(B) high pressure, high temperature
(C) high pressure, low temperature
(D) low pressure, low temperature GATE – 1993
Q.17. What is the significance of reflux in distillation operation? Explain in one
or two sentences. GATE – 1993
Q.18. In distillation under minimum reflux conditions, number of theoretical
stages would be:
(A) One (B) Minimum (C) Infinite (D) None of these GATE – 1993
Q.19. What relationship does any point on an operating time for absorption in a
packed column , represent? GATE – 1993
Q.20. Oxygen is diffusing in a mixture of oxygen-nitrogen at 1 std. atm, 25°C.
Concentration of oxygen at planes 2 mm apart is 10 and 20-volume %
respectively. Nitrogen is non-diffusing.
(i) Derive the appropriate expression to calculate the flux of oxygen. Define
units of each term clearly.
(ii) Calculate the flux of oxygen. Diffusivity of oxygen in nitrogen = 1.89 x10-5
m2 s-1 GATE – 1993
Q.21. The equilibrium water adsorbed by a certain silica gel in contact with
moist air varies linearly with the humidity of air as,
Y = 3.4435 x10-2 X
Where, X = kg water adsorbed /kg of dry gel,
Y = humidity of air, kg moisture /kg dry air.
0.5 kg of silica gel containing 5% (dry basis) adsorbed water is placed in a
collapsible vessel in which there are 10 m3 of moist air particle pressure of water
being 15 mm Hg. The total pressure and temperature are kept at 1 std. atm. 25°C
respectively.
(i) What is the amount of water picked up from the moist air in the vessel by the
silica gel?
(ii) What is the final particle pressure of water vapor in the vessel? GATE – 1993
Q.22. A mineral containing 20% elemental sulphur is to be leached with hot gas
oil in which sulphur is soluble to the extent of 10 parts in 100 parts of oil by
weight. The oil is recycled over the batch of ground mineral till no farther
dissolution of sulphur takes place. On drainage, the solid minerals retain the
solution to the extent of one tenth the weight of undissolved solid (sulphur and
gauge). No preferential absorption takes place. Calculate the equilibrium
compositions and quantities of the solid and liquid phases if 50 kg of oil is used
for leaching 100 kg of fresh mineral. GATE – 1993
Q.23. Diffusion coefficient of a binary gas mixture at low pressures varies with
pressure as:
(A) P (B) P2 (C) 1/P (D) Independent of P GATE – 1994
Q.24. Mass transfer coefficient, k, according to penetration theory varies with
mass diffusivity as:
(A) D0.5 (B) D (C) 1/D (D) D1.5 GATE – 1994
Q.25. A supersaturated solution of a sparingly soluble solute, at a concentration
of C, is being fed to a crystallizer at volumetric flow rate of V. The solubility of
the solute is CS . The output rate of solids from an efficient crystallizer is
____________. GATE – 1994
Q.25. According to film theory for equimolar counter diffusion, the mass transfer
coefficient is given by _______________ GATE – 1994
Q.26. True/False
(i) According to penetration theory , the mass transfer coefficient decreases if
the exposure me of an eddy to the solute decreases.
(ii) The Z-component of the total mass flux of a component A in a binary
mixture of A and B is given by .
(iii) Forced convection is relatively more effective in increasing the rate of mass
transfer if Schmidt number is larger. GATE – 1994
Q.27. The diffusion coefficient varies as a function of temperature for
(I) gases (A) T0.5
(II) liquids (B) T1.5
(C) 1/T
(D) T GATE – 1994
Q.28. Air at 30 0C and 150 kPa in closed container is compressed and cooled. It
is found that the first droplet of water condenses at 200 kPa and 15 0C. Calculate
the percent relative humidity of the original air. The vapour pressures of water at
15 0C and 30 0C are 1.7051 kPa and 4.246 kPa, respectively. GATE – 1994
Q.29. Simplify Fick’s law of mass diffusion for equimolar counter diffusion for a
binary system. GATE – 1994
Q.30. In a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, steady state equimolar counter
diffusion is occurring at a total pressure of 100 kPa and temperature of 20 °C. If
the partial pressures of oxygen at two planes 0.01 m apart, and perpendicular to
the direction of diffusion are 15 kPa and 5 kPa, respectively and the mass
diffusion flux of oxygen in the mixture is 1.6 x 10-5 k mole/m2 .s. Calculate the
molecular diffusivity for the system. GATE – 1994
Q.31. A stream of air at 100 kPa pressure and 300 K is flowing the top surface of a
thin flat sheet of solid naphthalene of length of 0.2 m with a velocity of 20 m/s. The
other data are:
Mass diffusivity of naphthalene vapor in air = 6 x 10-6 m2 /s
Kinetic viscosity of air = 1.5 x 10-5 m2 /s
Concentration of naphthalene at the air solid naphthalene interface = 1 x 10-5
kmol/m3
Calculate:
(a) The average mass transfer coefficient over the flat plate.
(b) The rate of loss of naphthalene from the surface per unit width.

Note: For heat transfer over a flat plate, convective heat transfer coefficient for
laminar flow can be calculated by the equation, Nu = 0.664 ReL1/2 Pr1/3 You may use
analogy between mass and heat transfer. GATE – 1994
Q.32. Carbon disulphide is to be absorbed from a dilute gas mixture of CS2 – N2 into
a pure nonvolatile oil at atmospheric pressure in a counter current absorber. The
mole fraction of CS2 in inlet gas stream is 0.05 and the flow rate of gas stream, G is
1500 kmol/hr. The equilibrium relation is given by; y = 0.5x.
Where x is the mole fraction of CS2 in liquid stream. It is desired to reduce the mole
fraction of CS2 in the gas stream is 0.005.
(a) Calculate the minimum value of L/G, where L s the liquid flow rate in kmol/hr.
(b) Derive the equation for the operating line if L/G is equal to 1.5 times the
minimum values. GATE – 1994
Q.33. A binary distillation column is operating under conditions specified below:
Feed rate = 350 k mol/hr
Overhead product rate = 150 k mol/hr
Mole fraction of more volatile component in,
Overhead product = 0.97
Bottom product = 0.02
Bottom product rate = 200 k mol/hr
Reflux ratio = 3.5
In the stripping section it was that the mole fraction of the volatile component in the
vapor leaving a plate is 0.33 while it’s mole fraction in the liquid coming to the same
plate is 0.25. Assuming constant molal counter flow, determine whether the feed is
vapor of liquid or partially vaporized. GATE – 1994
Q.34. In distillation where q is defined as the moles of liquid flow in the stripping
section per mole of feed introduced, for saturated liquid feed –
(A) q > 1
(B) q < 1
(C) q = 1
(D) q = 0 GATE – 1995
Q.35. In gas liquid contact operation the number of ideal stages.

This is true when the stripping factor S is

(A) S > 1 (B) S < 1 (C) S = 1 (D) S = ∞ GATE – 1995
Q.36. For absorbing a sparingly soluble gas in a liquid –
(A) gas side mass transfer coefficient should be increased
(B) liquid side mass transfer coefficient should be increased
(C) liquid side mass transfer coefficient should be decreased
(D) mass transfer coefficient must be kept constant. GATE – 1995
Q.37. (I) solutropic system (A) crystallization
(II) equilibrium moisture content (B) distillation
(C) extraction
(D) drying GATE – 1995
Q.38. It is necessary to dry a batch of 160 kg of a wet solid material from 30% to 5%
moisture content, under constant rate and failing rate period. The falling rate is
assumed to be linear.
Calculate the total drying me considering an available drying surface of 1 m2 /40 kg
of dry solid. A constant drying flul x of 3 x 10-4 kg/m2 s is given.
Xc the critical moisture content = 0.2 kg moisture/kg solid.
X* the equilibrium moisture content = 0.05 kg moisture/kg solid. GATE – 1995
Q.39. The equilibrium data for the distribution of a solute C between feed solvent A
and the extracting solvent B is given below :
X conc. of C is raffinate kg C/kg A 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.45
Y conc. of C extract kg C/kg B 0 0.096 0.17 0.232 0.275 0.28
In a counter current contact operation 10 kg/s of the feed containing 20% C in A
(w/w) is treated with pure solvent so as to reduce the solute concentration to 5%
(w/w). Calculate the solvent rate for operation with 2.5 times the minimum solvent
rate. GATE – 1995
Q.40. A counter current plate absorber is to be installed for scrubbing of an air
mixture containing 5% ammonia by volume. The scrubber is fed with water
containing 0.002 mole NH3 per mole of water. The scrubbing water flows at a rate of
1.0 mole water per mole air. It is necessary to absorb 85 percent of the ammonia
present in the gas by operating the absorber at 200C.
K = (0.80 mol NH3/mol air)/(mol NH3/mol H2O)
Calculate the concentration of NH3 in the outgoing liquid and estimate number of
stages necessary for this operation. GATE – 1995
Q.41. The reason for preferring packed towers over plate towers in distillation
practice is that the packed tower operation gives :
(A) low pressure drop and high hold up
(B) high pressure drop and low hold up
(C) low pressure drop and low hold up
(D) high pressure drop and high hold up GATE – 1996
Q.42. When a multistage tray tower uses a minimum reflux ratio it implies –
(A) infinite trays and maximum reboiler heat load
(B) infinite trays and minimum reboiler heat load
(C) minimum trays and minimum reboiler heat load
(D) minimum trays and maximum reboiler heat load GATE – 1996
Q.43. 160 kg of wet solid is to be dried from an initial moisture content of 25% to a
final value of 5%. Drying test shows that the rate of drying is constant at 3x10-4 kg
H2O/m2 . s in the region. 0.2 – 0.4 kg H2O/kg solid. The drying rate falls linearly in
the range 0.01 – 0.2 kg H2O/kg solid. If the equilibrium moisture content is 0.01 kg
H2O/kg solid, calculate the me of drying. The drying surface is 1 m2 /30 kg dry
weight. GATE – 1996
Q.44. 900 kg/h of an aqueous solution has a solute at a concentration of 0.1 kg.
solute/kg water. It is treated with 600 kg/h of a pure immiscible organic solvent in a
2-stage mixer-settler system. If the organic and aqueous streams leaving each stage
are in equilibrium such that

[kg solute in organic phase / kg solvent] = 2 [ kg solute in aq phase/kg water].

Calculate the kg solute extracted per kg solvent if countercurrent operation is

employed. GATE – 1996
Q.45. A liquid mixture containing 50 mole % each of benzene and toluene at 60 0C
is to be continuously flash vapourised to vapourise 60 mole % of the feed. The
residual liquid product contains 35 mole % benzene. If the enthalpies per mole of
feed, the liquid product and the vapour product are respectively 5, 2 and 30 kJ/mole.

a. Calculate the heat added in kJ per mole of vapour product.

b. Represent the process on a H-xy diagram. GATE – 1996
Q.46. For stripping of a gas in a counter current stripper, the operating line
(A) lies above the equilibrium curve
(B) lies below the equilibrium curve
(C) can lie above or below the equilibrium curve
(D) is always parallel to the equilibrium curve GATE – 1997
Q.47. In binary distillation, the separation of the components is easier if the relative
volatility (α) is –
(A) α >> 1
(B) α << 1
(C) α = 1
(D) none of these GATE – 1997
Q.48. Molecular diffusivity of a liquid –
(A) increases with temperature
(B) may increase or decrease with temp.
(C) decreases with temperature
(D) is independent of temperature GATE – 1997
Q.49. For turbulent mass transfer in pipes, the Sherwood number depends upon the
Reynolds number (Re) as
(A) Re0.33
(B) Re0.53
(C) Re0.83
(D) Re GATE – 1997
Q.50. In distillation columns, the number of bubble cape per tray primarily depends
on the –
(A) allowable liquid velocity
(B) allowable gas velocity
(C) feed composition
(D) allowable gas and liquid velocities GATE – 1997
Q.51. In a binary distillation column, if the feed contains 40 mol% vapour, the q line
will have a slope of
(A) 1.5
(B) -0.6
(C) -1.5
(D) 0.6 GATE – 1997
Q.52. According to the film theory of mass transfer, the mass transfer coefficient is
proportional to
(A) D
(B) D2
(C) D0.5
(D) 1 / D
Where D is the molecular diffusivity. GATE – 1997
Q.53. It is desired to absorb acetone from a dilute mixture of acetone/air containing I
mol% acetone by contacting it counter currently with pure water in an absorber
consisting of two theoretical (ideal) stages. The total inlet gas flow rate is 30 k.mol/hr
and that of water is 90 k.mol/hr. Under the operating conditions, the equilibrium
relationship for acetone in gas-liquid is y = 2x.
Estimate the mol fraction of acetone in the water stream leaving the absorber. GATE – 1997
Q.54. Calculate the time required to reduce the moisture content of a solid from 0.66 to
0.25 kg moisture/kg dry solid. The rate of drying N (kg water evaporated/m2 .s) is given
as
N = 0.0015 X for x < 0.3
= 0.00045 for x > 0.3
where X = moisture/kg dry solid. The drying surface is 0.025 m2/kg dry solid. GATE – 1997
Q.55. A feed of known composition (binary mixture of constant relative volatility) is to
be distilled in a continuous fractionating column consisting of a partial condenser, one
plate, and a reboiler. The feed enters the reboiler from which a boom product is
continuously withdrawn. The liquid reflux from the partial condenser is returned to the
plate. The distillate composition, XD, is 0.8 and the reflux ratio is 2.
(a) What is the slope of the operating line on x – y plot and its intercept on the y – axis ?
(b) Using the McCabe-Thiele method, qualitatively locate on the x – y plot :
i) the composition of the streams leaving the plate, and
ii) the bottom product composition, (do not use graph paper). GATE – 1997
Q.56. For a fixed number of ideal stages in a distillation column, as the reflux ratio is
increased, the difference in composition between the top and boom product streams –
(A) increases
(B) decreases
(C) remains unaffected
(D) passes through a maximum GATE – 1998
Q.57. The mass transfer coefficient for a solid sphere of radius ‘a’ dissolving in a
large volume of quiescent liquid, in which D is the diffusivity of the solute, is
(A) D/a
(B) D/2a
(C) proportional to (D)1/2
(D) dependent on the Reynold’s number GATE – 1998
Q.58. In an interphase mass transfer process, the lesser the solubility of a given solute
in a liquid, the higher are the chances that the transfer process will be
(A) gas phase resistance controlled
(B) liquid phase resistance controlled
(C) impossible
(D) driven by a nonlinear driving force GATE – 1998
Q.59. In distillation column design, the McCabe-Thiele procedure is inadequate and a
Ponchon-Savarit procedure is needed when –
(A) saturated feed is not used
(B) an azeotrope forms
(C) the latent heats of vapourisation of the more and less volatile components are
greatly different
(D) a total condenser is used GATE – 1998
Q.60. Air, initially at 101.3 kPa and 40 0C, and with a Relative Humidity of 50%, is
cooled at constant pressure to 30 0C. The cooled air has
(A) A higher dew point
(B) A higher absolute (specific) humidity
(C) A higher relative humidity
(D) A higher wet bulb temperature GATE – 1998
Q.61. For the Air-Water system under ambient conditions, the adiabatic saturation
temperature and the wet-bulb-temperature are nearly equal, because
(A) water has a high latent heat of evaporation
(B) Lewis number is close to unity
(C) they are always equal under all circumstances
(D) solubility of the components of air in water is very small GATE – 1998
Q.62. In an interphase heat transfer process, the equilibrium state corresponds to
equality of temperatures in the two phases, while the condition for equilibrium in an
interphase mass transfer process is
(A) equality of concentrations
(B) equality of chemical potentials
(C) equality of activity coefficients
(D) equality of mass transfer coefficients GATE – 1998
Q.63. 100 moles of an acetonitrile – nitromethane mixture is differentially distilled in
a batch still at a pressure of 70 kPa. The feed contains 74 mole % acetonitrile.
Distillation is continued till the liquid le behind in the still contains 32 mole %
acetonitrile. The vapour-liquid equilibria for the system at this pressure are correlated
as follows :
y* = 1.05x + 0.13 for and
y* = 0.77x + 0.28 for
where x and y* refer to the mole fractions of acetonitrile in the liquid and equilibrium
vapour, respectively.
Find the average composition of the distillate collected. GATE – 1998
Q.64. A pure gas is bubbling through a column of liquid at a sufficiently slow rate that
the bubbles are well separated from each other. The bubbles are spherical, are 3 mm
in diameter, and rise with constant velocity of 0.24 m/s. At any given me, ten bubbles
can be seen in the liquid, the liquid volume being 3.14 x 10-4 m3 . The liquid contains
no dissolved gas to start with, and may be assumed to be well mixed at all times. The
mass transfer coefficient for this situation is given by Higbie’s Penetration theory as

Where D = diffusivity of the gas in the liquid = 2 x 10-9 m2/s, and t* = time of contact
between liquid elements and the gas, s. Determine the time it takes for the liquid to
attain 50% of the saturation concentration. GATE – 1998
Q.65. The carbon dioxide issuing out of a fermenter contains 0.01 mole fraction of
ethanol, which has to be reduced to 0.0001 mole fraction by scrubbing with water in a
counter current packed tower. The gas flowrate is 227.3 kmol/h and may be assumed
constant throughout the tower. The equilibrium mole fraction of ethanol in the gas
phase (y*) is related to that in the liquid (x) as y* = 1.07 x.
Determine the minimum liquid rate needed, and the number of overall gas-side
transfer units needed at 1.5 times the minimum liquid rate. The entering liquid may be
assumed to be free of ethanol. GATE – 1998
Q.66. A particular metal reacts with a certain liquid and the product passes into
solution. Three non-porous solid spheres of same metal and of diameters 10, 20 and
30 mm, respectively were placed in a very large stirred pool of reactive liquid at the
same me. Aer an hour, it was found that the pool had only two spheres of diameter 10
and 20 mm, respectively. Aer another hour, the pool had only one sphere of diameter
10 mm. This sphere also disappeared after another hour. Explain these observations
through appropriate derivation using a more likely rate controlling step out of the
following two.
i) Film mass transfer
ii) Surface reaction GATE – 1998
Q.67. Penetration theory states that the mass transfer coefficient is equal to (where De
is diffusivity and t is time)

GATE – 1999
Q.68. An alkaline solution is used to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in a
stream from 10% to 0.1% by absorption with irreversible chemical reaction. The
overall number of transfer units based on gas phase is
(A) 9.21
(B) 4.605
(C) 100
(D) 0.001 GATE – 1999
Q.69. If the specific heats of a gas and a vapour are 0.2 kJ/kg K and 1.5 kJ/kg K
respectively, and the humidity is 0.01, the humid heat in kJ/kg K is
(A) 0.31
(B) 0.107
(C) 0.017
(D) 0.215 GATE – 1999
Q.70. Stripping of ammonia is carried out at a pressure of 1.1 atms. One m3 of water
enters the system and the ratio of the molar flow rate of air and that of the water is 4.
The inlet air and the inlet water have 0.1 and 1.0 mole percent of ammonia
respectively. The Murphree vapour plate efficiency for ammonia removal is 50% and
the Henry’s law constant for ammonia in water is 2.574 x 10-5 atm. M3/mol.
Determine the exit water composition and the exit air composition. GATE – 1999
Q.71. Determination of efficiency is critical in plate column design. The gas and
liquid rates are 0.1 and 0.25 kmol/s respectively. The interfacial area for mass transfer
is 35 m2/m3 froth on the plate. The residence me of both the liquid and gas in the froth
zone is 3 seconds. The liquid phase and gas phase mass transfer coefficients are 1 x
10-2 m/s and 2 x 10-3 m/s respectively.
Calculate
a) liquid phase transfer units
b) gas phase transfer units
c) stripping factor, given that the slope of the equilibrium curve is 5
d) overall transfer units
e) Murphree point efficiency GATE – 1999
Q.72. The absorption factor is defined as

GATE – 2000
Where L = liquid flow rate, G = gas flow rate and m = slope of the equilibrium line
Q.73. For the nth tray (counted from the boom of a distillation column), the Murphree
tray efficiency is given by

GATE – 2000
Q.74. The McCabe ΔL law states that the
(A) molar heats of vaporization of components are nearly equal
(B) linear crystal growth rate depends on the degree of super saturation
(C) linear crystal growth rate does not depend on the crystal size
(D) linear crystal growth rate depends on the crystal size GATE – 2000
Q.75. The individual mass transfer coefficients (mol/m2 s) for absorption of a solute
from a gas mixture into a liquid solvent are kL =4.5 and kG =1.5. The slope of the
equilibrium line is 3.
Which of the following resistance(s) is (are) controlling ?
(A) liquid – side
(B) gas – side
(C) interfacial
(D) both liquid and gas-side. GATE – 2000
Q.76. In a laboratory test run, the rate of drying was found to be 0.5 x 10-3 kg/m2 s
when the moisture content reduced from 0.4 to 0.1 on a dry basis. The critical
moisture content of the material is 0.08 on a dry basis. A tray drier is used to dry 100
kg (dry basis) of the same material under identical conditions. The surface area of the
material is 0.04 m2/kg of dry solid. The me required (in seconds) to reduce the
moisture content of the solids from 0.3 to 0.2 (dry basis) is
(A) 2000
(B) 4000
(C) 5000
(D) 6000 GATE – 2000
Q.77. Obtain the equation for the q-line given that the operating lines are

Where L and L are the liquid flow rates in the enriching and stripping sections, D and
B are the top and boom product flow rates, and xD and xB are the mole fractions of top
and boom products, respectively. GATE – 2000
Q.78. A continuous – contact extraction column is used to extract a solute from an
aqueous stream (F) using an organic solvent (S). The distribution coefficient (y/x) is
1.0, where x and y are the mass fractions of solute in raffinate and extract phases,
respectively. The height of transfer unit based on the extract phase is 1.0 m. The rest
of the data are given in the figure. Assuming that the phase flow rates are constant,
find the height of the tower.

GATE – 2000
Q.79. Air at 1 atm is blown past the bulb of a mercury thermometer. The bulb is
covered with a wick. The wick is immersed in an organic liquid (molecular weight =
58). The reading of the thermometer is 7.6 0C. At this temperature, the vapour
pressure of the liquid is 5 kPa. Find the air temperature, given that the ratio of the heat
transfer coefficient to the mass transfer coefficient (psychrometric ratio) is 2 kJ/kg K
and the latent heat of vapourisation of the liquid is 360 kJ/kg. Assume that the air,
which is blown, is free from the organic vapour. GATE – 2000
Q.80. The surface renewal frequency in Danckwerts’ model of mass transfer is given
by (kL : mass transfer coefficient, m/s)

GATE – 2001
Q.81. For gas absorption the height of a transfer unit, based on the gas phase, is given
by
(G: superficial molar gas velocity
L: superficial molar liquid velocity
FG: mass transfer coefficient, mol/m2 s
a: interfacial area per unit volume of tower)

GATE – 2001
Q.82. The Lewis relation for air-water humidification is given by
(ky: Mass transfer coefficient of moisture in air
hG : heat transfer coefficient
CS : heat capacity of vapour gas mixture)

GATE – 2001
Q.83. The interfacial area per unit volume of dispersion, in a gas – liquid contractor,
for fractional hold-up of gas = 0.1 and gas bubble diameter = 0.5 mm is given by (in
m2/m3 )
(A) 500
(B) 1200
(C) 900
(D) 800 GATE – 2001
Q.84. 200 kg of solid (on dry basis) is subjected to a drying process for a period of
5000 s. The drying occurs in the constant rate period with the drying rate as NC = 0.5
x 10-3 kg/m2 s. The initial moisture content of the solid is 0.2 kg moisture/kg dry
solid. The interfacial area available for drying is 4 m2/100 kg of dry solid. The
moisture content at the end of the drying period is (in kg moisture/kg dry solid).
(A) 0.5
(B) 0.05
(C) 0.1
(D) 0.15 GATE – 2001
Q.85. In a single stage extraction process, 10 kg of pure solvent S (containing no
solute A) is mixed with 30 kg of feed F containing A at a mass fraction XF = 0.2. The
mixture splits into an extract phase E and a raffinate phase R, containing A at XE =
0.05 and XR = 0.05 respectively. The total mass of the extract phase is (in kg).
(A) 6.89
(B) 8.89
(C) 10
(D) 8.25 GATE – 2001
Q.86. For a countercurrent, multistage contact, show that if the driving force for
solute transfer is constant for all trays, then the number of stages is given by

GATE – 2001
Q.87. A sugary substance A is added to a pot of milk (initially containing no A) and
stirred vigorously by a spoon so that the concentration of A, CA, is uniform everywhere.
The mass transfer coefficient for the transfer of A into the liquid is ksl = 1 x 10-4 m/s.
Solid A is added in great excess compared to the saturation capacity of milk to dissolve
A. Assume that the solid liquid interfacial area stays constant throughout the dissolution
process and is given by a = 1000 cm2 . Derive the expression for CA versus me, t.
Find the me taken for CA/CA * = 0.95
CA * = 5x10 -2 kmol/m3
VL = 1000 cm3 GATE – 2001
Q.88. A packed gas liquid contractor employs ceramic Intalox saddles (38 mm). The
gas flow rate, G = 1.5 kg/s and gas density, PG = 1.5 kg/m3 . The liquid flow rate, L =
30 kg/s and liquid density PL = 1000 kg/m3 . The column is to be designed for a
pressure drop of 42 mm H2O. Norton’s correlation for this pressure drop is

Where K = flow coefficient, mL , liquid viscosity = 10-3 Ns/m2 , Gw = gas flow rate per
unit cross sectional area, kg/(m2 s). Fp = packing factor = 170 m-1 . K is given by the
equation: K = 0.62 – 0.5 (m – 0.5) for 0.5 ≤ m ≤ 1.0

where Calculate the diameter of the contactor. GATE – 2001

Q.89. According to the Fenske equation, what will be the minimum number of plates
required in a distillation column to separate an equimolar binary mixture of components
A & B into an overhead fraction containing 99 mole % A and a booms fraction containing
98 mole % B?
[Assume that the relative volatility (αAB = 2) does not change appreciably in the column]
(A) 5 (B) 9 (C) 12 (D) 28 GATE – 2002
Q.90. It takes 6 hours to dry a wet solid from 50% moisture content to the critical
moisture content of 15%. How much longer will it take to dry the solid to 10%
moisture content, under the same drying conditions (the equilibrium moisture content
of the solid is 5%).
(A) 15 min (B) 51 min (C) 71 min (D) 94 min GATE – 2002
Q.91. The mass flux from a 5 cm diameter naphthalene ball, placed in stagnant air at
40 0C and atmospheric pressure, is 1.47 x 10-3 mol/m2 s. Assume the vapour pressure
of naphthalene to be 0.15 atm at 40 0C and negligible bulk concentration of
naphthalene in air. If air starts blowing across the surface of naphthalene ball at 3
m/s, by what factor will the mass transfer rate increase, all other conditions
remaining the same ?
For spheres: Sh = 2.0 + 0.6 (Re)0.5 (Sc)0.33
Where Sh is the Sherwood number and Sc is the Schmidt number. The viscosity and
density of air are 1.8 x 10-5 kg/m s and 1.123 kg/m3 , respectively and the gas
constant is 82.06 cm3 atm/mol K. GATE – 2002
Q.92. It is desired to extract acetone from a feed containing acetone and water, using chloroform as the solvent,
in two cross current extraction stages as shown below.

Assume that water and chloroform are immiscible. The following data are given for the process
(i) The feed is an equimolar mixture of acetone and water.
(ii) The quantities of chloroform used in the two stages are equal.
(iii) 60 mole % of the acetone in the feed is extracted in stage I.
(iv) The extract & raffinate phases exiting from each stage are in equilibrium. The equilibrium relation for the
distribution of acetone is given by
(Moles of acetone in water rich phase) / (Moles of water in water rich phase) = 2.0 x (Moles of acetone in
chloroform rich phase)/( Moles of chloroform in chloroform rich phase)
(a) Indicate (with the help of the above diagram) the components in each stream.
(b) Determine the quantity of chloroform used in each stage per mole of feed.
(c) Determine the mole fraction of acetone in final product stream. GATE – 2002
Q.93. A counter current multistage stripper as shown in figure below is used to remove an
impurity from a cream using pure steam. 100 kg/hr of liquid cream containing 20 parts
per millions (ppm) by weight of impurity is fed to the stripper. It is desired to reduce the
concentration of impurity in the cream to 1 ppm. Assume that the liquid cream does not
evaporate and steam does not condense. The equilibrium relation is y = 10x, where y and
x are the ppm of impurity in steam and cream, respectively

(a) Indicate schematically on a x-y plot, the equilibrium line and operating line for
minimum steam flow rate.
(b) Determine the minimum flow rate of steam required.
(c) If the rate of steam input to the stripper is 1.5 times the minimum, determine the
required integral number of theoretical stages. GATE – 2002
Q.94. The diffusion coefficient, in m2 /s, of Acetic acid in Benzene (liquid in liquid) is
(A) 2.09 x10-4
(B) 2.09 x10-5
(C) 2.09 x10-9
(D) 2.09 x10-12 GATE – 2003
Q.95. Component A is diffusing in a medium B. The flux NA relative to a stationary
point is equal to the flux due to molecular diffusion if
(A) diffusion of A is in stagnant medium B
(B) mass transfer is accompanied by reaction
(C) molecular mean free path is high
(D) there is equimolar counter-diffusion GATE – 2003
Q.96. Minimum reflux ratio in a distillation column results in
(A) optimum number of trays
(B) minimum reboiler size
(C) maximum condenser size
(D) minimum number of trays GATE – 2003
Q.97. Experiments were conducted to determine the flux of a species A in a stagnant
medium across a gas-liquid interface. The overall mass transfer coefficient based on
the liquid side for dilute systems for the above was estimated to be 4 x 10-3 kg.mol/m2
s . The equilibrium data for the system is given as y = 2x. The flux across the interface
(in kg mol/m2 s ) for bulk concentrations of A in gas phase and liquid phase as y = 0.4
and x = 0.01, respectively is
(A) 5.6 x10-4
(B) 8.5 x10-4
(C) 5.6 x10-3
(D) 8.5 x10-3 GATE – 2003
Q.98. H2S is being absorbed in a gas absorber unit. The height of the transfer unit
based on the overall mass transfer coefficient on the gas side is 0.4 m. The
equilibrium data given by y = 1.5 x. The bulk concentration of H2S has to be reduced
from 0.05 to 0.001 mole fraction in the gas side. The height of the tower (in meters)
corresponding to an operating line given by y = 5 x + 0.001 is
(A) 2.0 (B) 1.56 (C) 1.0 (D) 0.56 GATE – 2003
Q.99. The Reynolds number of the liquid was increased 100 fold for a laminar falling
film used for gas-liquid contacting. Assuming penetration theory is applicable, the
fold – increase in the mass transfer coefficient (kc) for the same system is
(A) 100 (B) 10 (C) 5 (D) 1 GATE – 2003
Q.100. A pure drug is administered as a sphere and as a cube. The amount of drug is
the same in the two tablets. Assuming that the shape and size do not influence the
mass transfer, the ratio of rate of dissolution in water at t = 0 for the cubic to spherical
tablet is
(A) 0.54 (B) 1.04 (C) 1.24 (D) 1.94 GATE – 2003
Q.101. A solid is being dried in the linear drying rate regime from moisture content X0
to XF . The drying rate is zero at X = 0 and the critical moisture content is the same as
the initial moisture, X0 . The drying me for M = (Ls /Lc ) is
(A) M (XO – XF )
(B) M (XO / XF )
(C) M ln (XO / XF )
(D) MXO ln (XO / XF )

where LS : total mass of dry solids, A : total surface area for drying, RC : constant
maximum drying rate per unit area, and X : moisture content (in mass of water/mass
of dry solids) GATE – 2003
Q.102. The following plot gives the saturated humidity (He) versus Temperature (T)
Line joining (HI, TI) and (H2, T2) is the constant enthalpy line. Choose the correct
one from among the alternatives A, B, C and D

(A) T1 – Dew Point Temp.; T2 – Dry Bulb Temp.; T3 – Wet Bulb Temp.
(B) T1 – Dew Point Temp.; T2 – Wet Bulb Temp.; T3 – Dry Bulb Temp.
(C) T1 – Wet Bulb Temp.; T2 – Dry Bulb Temp.; T3 – Dew Point Temp.
(D) T1 – Dry Bulb Temp.; T2 –Wet Bulb Temp.; T3 – Dew Point Temp. GATE – 2003
Q.103. Compound A is extracted from a solution of A + B into a pure solvent S. A co-
current unit is used for the liquid–liquid extraction. The inlet rate of the solution
containing A is 200 moles of B/hr m2 and the solvent flow rate is 400 moles of S/hr
m2 . The equilibrium data is represented by Y = 2X where Y is in moles of A/moles of
B and X is in moles of A/moles of S. The maximum percentage extraction achieved in
the unit is
(A) 25% (B) 50% (C) 70% (D) 90% GATE – 2003
Q.104. In distillation column sizing calculations by short cut methods, match the
following:
P. Underwood’s Equation 1. Number of real trays
Q. Fenske’s Equation 2. Column diameter
R. Gilliland’s Equation 3. Minimum number of ideal trays GATE – 2003
Q.105. Pure aniline is evaporating through a stagnant air film of 1 mm thickness at
300 K and a total pressure of 100 kPa. The vapour pressure of aniline at 300 K is 0.1
kPa. The total molar concentration under these conditions is 40.1 mol/m3 . The
diffusivity of aniline in air is 0.74 x 10-5 m2/s.

(i). The numerical value of the mass transfer coefficient is 7.4 x 10-3 . Its units are
(A) m/s
(B) cm/s
(C) mol/(m2 s Pa)
(D) kmol/(m2 s Pa)

(ii). The rate of evaporation of aniline is 2.97 x 10-4 . Its units are
(A) mol/s
(B) mol/(m2 s)
(C) mol/(cm2 s)
(D) kmol/(m2 s) GATE – 2004
Q.106. An air-water vapour mixture has a dry bulb temperature of 60 0C and a dew
point temperature of 40 0C. The total pressure is 101.3 kPa and the vapour pressures
of water at 40 0C and 60 0C are 7.30 kPa and 19.91 kPa, respectively.

(i). The humidity of air sample expressed as kg of water vapour/kg of dry air is
(A) 0.048 (B) 0.079 (C) 0.122 (D) 0.152

(ii). The wet bulb temperature Tw for the above mixture would be
(A) less than 40 0C (B) 40 0C (C) 40 0C < Tw < 60 0C (D) 60 0C GATE – 2004
Q.107. Acetone is to be removed from air in an isothermal dilute absorber using pure
water as solvent. The incoming air contains 5 mol% of acetone (ym = 0.05). The
design equation to be used for obtaining the number of trays (N) of the absorber is

For 98% recovery of acetone, the number of trays required is/are

(A) 1 (B) 8 (C) 9 (D) 10 GATE – 2004
Q.108. The boiling points for pure water and pure toluene are 100 0C and 110. 6 0C,
respectively. Toluene and water are completely immiscible in each other. A well-agitated
equimolar mixture of toluene and water is prepared.

(i). The temperature at which the above mixture will exert a pressure of one standard atm is
(A) Less than 100 0C (B) 100 0C (C) between 100 and 1100C (D) 110.60C

(ii). AT a total pressure of one standard atm exerted by the vapours of water and toluene,
the mole fraction of water xw in the vapour phase satisfies
(A) 0 < xw < 0.5 (B) xw = 0.5 (C) 0.5 < xw < 1.0 (B) xw = 1.0 GATE – 2004
Q.109. In a distillation operation, what is the effect of the temperature of the reflux
stream (given below) on the condenser and reboiler loads ? Reflux conditions:
(i) reflux stream is completely liquid and is at its bubble point
(ii) reflux stream is below its bubble point.

(A) condenser and reboiler loads are the same in both the cases,
(B) reboiler load is the same in both the cases but condenser load is higher in case (ii)
(C) condenser load is the same in both the cases but reboiler load is higher in case (ii)
(D) both condenser and reboiler loads are higher in case (ii) as compared to case (i)
GATE – 2004
Q.110. A long cylinder and a sphere both of 5 cm diameter are made from the same
porous material. The flat ends of cylinder are sealed. Both the cylinder and sphere are
saturated with the same solution of sodium chloride. Later, both the objects are
immersed for a short and equal interval of me in a large tank of water, which is well
agitated. The fractions of salt remaining in the cylinder and the sphere are Xc and Xs ,
respectively. Which of the following statements is correct ?
(A) Xc > Xs
(B) Xc = Xs
(C) Xc < Xs
(D) Xc is greater/less than Xs depending on the length of the cylinder. GATE – 2004
Q.111. In liquid-liquid extraction 10 kg of a solution containing 2 kg of solute C and 8
kg of solvent A is brought into contact with 10 kg of solvent B. Solvents A and B are
completely immiscible in each other whereas solute C is soluble in both the solvents.
The extraction process attains equilibrium. The equilibrium relationship between the
two phases is Y* = 0.9X where Y* is kg of C/kg of B and X is kg of C/kg of A.

Choose the correct answer

(A) the entire amount of C is transferred to solvent
(B) less than 2 kg but more than 1 kg of C is transferred to solvent B
(C) less than 1 kg of C is transferred to B
(D) no amount of C is transferred to B. GATE – 2004
Q.112. At equilibrium, the concentration of water is vapor phase (C*) in kg/m3 of air
space and the amount of water (m) adsorbed per kg of dry silica gel are related by C*
= 0.0667 m. To maintain dry conditions in a room of air space 100 m3 containing 2.2
kg of water vapour initially, 10 kg of dry silica gel is kept in the room,. The fraction of
initial water remaining in the air space after a long me (during which the temperature
is maintained constant) is
(A) 0.0 (B) 0.2 (C) 0.4 (D) 1.0 GATE – 2004
Q.113. A 25 cm x 25 cm x 1 cm flat sheet weighing 1.2 kg initially was dried from
both sides under constant drying rate conditions. It took 1500 seconds for the weight
of the sheet to reduce to 1.05 kg. Another 1 m x 1 m x 1 cm flat sheet of the same
materials is to be dried from one side only. Under the same constant drying rate
conditions, the me required for drying (in seconds) from its initial weight of 19.2 kg to
17.6 kg is
(A) 1000 (B) 1500 (C) 2000 (D) 2500 GATE – 2004
Q.114. A distillation column with N plates is being operated under normal conditions.
At some point in me, the operation is shied to total reflux condition (i.e., no product
and residue are being withdrawn and feed to the column is stopped). At the new steady
state
(A) composition of vapours and that of liquid do not vary throughout the column
(B) reboiler load and condenser load are minimum
(C) the top and boom compositions are unchanged with and without total reflux
(D) the top and boom compositions correspond to the maximum enrichment
achievable. GATE – 2004
Q.115. An aqueous solution of methanol is to be distilled in a tray column. High-
pressure steam is available as a source of heat. For a given reflux ratio and overhead
composition, two options are being explored: (i) a reboiler is used, and (ii) no reboiler
is used but steam is fed directly to the bottom of the column. As compared to option (i),
in option (ii).
(A) less number of trays are required
(B) composition of the residue remains unchanged
(C) more number of trays are required but the residue composition remains unchanged
(D) more number of trays are required and the residue composition is more dilute in
methanol. GATE – 2004
Q.116. A distillation column at a pilot plant is scaled up by 3 times for industrial
use at steady state. Aer scaling up
(A) the number of theoretical trays increases by 3 times
(B) the minimum reflux ratio is increased by three times
(C) the feed flow rate and product flow rates are increased by three times
(D) the feed composition and product compositions are increased by three times
GATE – 2005
Q.117. In a tray column, separating a binary mixture, with non-ideal stages, ONE
of the following statements in TRUE,
(A) Point efficiency can exceed 100%
(B) Murphree efficiency cannot exceed 100%
(C) Murphree efficiency can exceed 100%
(D) Both Murphree and point efficiencies can exceed 100% GATE – 2005
Q.118. The ratio of the diffusion coefficient in a gas to that in a liquid is of the order
of
(A) 105 (B) 10-5 (C) 10-2 (D) 102 GATE – 2005
Q.119. For a two-phase feed, where 80% of the feed is vaporized under column
conditions, the feed line slope in the McCabe-Thiele method for distillation column
design, is
(A) – 1/4 (B) + 1/4 (C) + 4 (D) – 4 GATE – 2005
Q.120. A liquid mixture of benzene and toluene is in equilibrium with its vapour at
101 kPa and 373 K. The vapor pressures of benzene and toluene at 373 K
respectively are 156 and 63 kPa respectively. Assuming that the system obeys
Raoult’s law, the mole fraction of benzene in the liquid phase is
(A) 0.65 (B) 0.41 (C) 0.065 (D) 0.04 GATE – 2005
Q.121. Two solid discs of benzoic acid (molecular weight = 122) of equal
dimensions are spinning separately in large volumes of water and air at 300 K. The
mass transfer coefficients for benzoic acid in water and air are 0.9 x 10-5 and 0.47 x
10-2 m/s respectively. The solubility of benzoic acid in water is 3 kg/m3 and the
equilibrium vapor pressure of benzoic acid in air is 0.04 kPa. Then the disc
(A) dissolves faster in air than in water
(B) dissolves faster in water than in air
(C) dissolves at the same rate in both air and water
(D) does not dissolve either in water or in air. GATE – 2005
Q.122. Match the variation of mass transfer coefficient given by the theory in Group
I with the appropriate variation in Group II

Group I Group II
(P) Film Theory (1) µDAB
(Q) Penetration theory (2) µDAB 2/3
(R) Boundary layer theory (3) µDAB 1/2

(A) P-1, Q-2, R-3

(B) P-2, Q-1, R-3
(C) P-1, Q-3, R-2
(D) P-3, Q-2, R-1 GATE – 2005
Q.123. A separation column for vapour-liquid contact processes 200 kmol/hr of
vapour. The flooding velocity is 3 m/s. If the column operates at 85% of flooding
velocity and the down comer area is 10% of the total cross sectional area, what is
the diameter of the column ? Average density of vapour = 2 kg/m3 and its molecular
weight = 44.
(A) 0.82 m (B) 0.72 m (C) 0.78 m (D) 1 m GATE – 2005
Q.124. A binary gas mixture of a solute and a carrier gas is treated in a countercurrent
gas absorption column, containing ideal trays, using a solvent. The compositions y and
x (see figure below) are the mole fractions of the solute in the gas and liquid
respectively. Also, V and L are the molar flow rates of the gas and liquid respectively.
Assume that the carrier gas is insoluble in the solvent and that the vapour pressure of
the solvent is very low at the given conditions of the column. Further, the gas and liquid
streams are sufficiently dilute that L and V may be assumed to be constant throughout
the column. The equilibrium relation is given by y* = mx, where m is a positive
constant.

GATE – 2005
Q.125. For any value of m, the change in liquid composition across a tray is
independent of the tray location if
(A) L/V = 1
(B) m L/V = 1
(C) m /(LV) = 1
(D) L /(m V) = 1 GATE – 2005
Q.126. Under the correct condition corresponding to part (a), the number of ideal
trays in the volume is given by

GATE – 2005
Q.127. An ideal single stage extraction process is used to treat 100 mol/s of an
organic feed solution. The solute concentration in this solution is to be reduced from
0.5 mol % to 0.1 mol %. A pure solvent S is used. To reduce the solvent requirement
by half for the same separation
(A) add one more ideal co-current stage
(B) use another pure solvent S* whose partition coefficient is twice that of S
(C) use solvent S containing 0.02 mole fraction of the solute,
(D) double the residence me of the solvent S in the contactor GATE – 2006
Q.128. In a multistage countercurrent isothermal stripping column, feed containing
0.05 mol of solute/mol of solute free oil is treated with steam. The absorption factor
A = 0.65. The equilibrium relation is given by Y* = 2X, where Y* and X refer to the
equilibrium mole ratio in the steam and oil phases respectively. The Kremser
equation is given as follows (‘0’ refers to liquid inlet at the top, ‘Np’ refers to the last
stage at the boom).

If the steam is initially free of solute and its exit mole ratio (mol solute/mol steam)
is 0.0624, then the number of equilibrium stages required is
(A) 4.2 (B) 5.2 (C) 7.2 (D) 8.2 GATE – 2006
Q.128. 100 moles of a binary mixture F containing 60 mol% A (more volatile) and
40 mol% B is treated in a batch distillation still. Aer 1 hour, 70 moles of the
distillate D is collected leaving behind the residue W. Relative volatility α is 2. The
governing equation is

The average mole fraction of A in the distillate is

(A) 0.43 (B) 0.61 (C) 0.69 (D) 0.73 GATE – 2006
Q.130. A saturated vapor is fed to a distillation column at 180 kmol/hr. Both the
rectifying and stripping sections of the column operate at 60% of their respective
flooding velocities. The flooding velocity of the rectifying section is twice that of
the stripping section. The assumptions of constant molar overflow and constant
molar vapor density throughout the column are valid. If the boil-up rate is 60
kmol/hr, then the relationship between the diameters of the rectifying section (dr)
and the stripping section (ds ) is
(A) dr = √2 ds (B) dr = √3 ds (C) dr = 2 ds (D) dr = 3 ds GATE – 2006
Q. A binary distillation column separates 100 mol/hr of a feed mixture into distillate
D and residue W. The McCabe-Thiele diagram for this process is given below.

The relative volatility for the binary system is constant at 2.4. GATE – 2006
Q.131.The distillate and residue flow rates (in mol/hr) are
(A) D = 48.4, W = 51.6
(B) D = 51.6, W = 48.4
(C) D = 54.7, W = 45.3
(D) D = 45.3, W = 54.7

Q.132. The ratio of liquid to vapor molar flow rates in the rectifying section is
(A) 0.64
(B) 1.00
(C) 1.55
(D) 1.80 GATE – 2006
Q.133. The minimum number of theoretical stages (inclusive of reboiler) for this
process is
(A) 5.2 (B) 6.1 (C) 7.8 (D) infinite GATE – 2006
Q.134. If the percent humidity of air (30 °C, total pressure 100 kPa) is 24 % and the
saturation pressure of water vapor at that temperature is 4 kPa, the percent relative
humidity and the absolute humidity of air are
(A) 25.2, 0.0062
(B) 25, 0.0035
(C) 20.7, 0.0055
(D) 18.2, 0.00 GATE – 2007
Q.135. The following figure depicts steady one-dimensional diffusion of water vapour
from the surface of water taken in a conical flask at room temperature. Derive the
governing equation for determining the concentration profile of water vapour in the gas
medium. Neglect change of level of water due to condensation. The temperatures of the
gas and the liquid media are identical and constant.

GATE – 2007
Q.136. . In a distillation operation, it is desired to have a very high purity boom product.
Initially, a kettle-type reboiler is used at the boom of the column and the following
analytical equation is used to obtain the equilibrium trays in the exhausting section of
the column

where xm is the composition of the liquid leaving tray m. Tray m is the last equilibrium
tray obtained by a McCabe Thiele graph of the exhausting section. If the kettle-type
reboiler is replaced by a thermo-syphon reboiler, the analytical equation, for the
exhausting section will be

GATE – 2007
Q.137. A 50 cm X 50 cm X 1 cm flat wet sheet weighing 2 kg initially was dried
from both the sides under constant drying rate period. It took 1000 secs for the
weight of the sheet to reduce to 1.75 kg. Another 1m X 1m X 1cm flat sheet is to be
dried from one side only. Under the same drying rate and other conditions, me
required for drying (in secs) from initial weight of 4 kg to 3 kg is
(A) 1000 (B) 1500 (C) 2000 (D) 2500 GATE – 2007
Q.137. It is desired to reduce the concentration of pyridine in 500 kg of aqueous
solution from 20 weight percent to 5 wt percent in a single batch extraction using
chloro- benzene as solvent. Equilibrium compositions (end points of the e line) in
terms of weight percent of pyridine-water-chlorobenzene are (5, 95, 0) and (11, 0,
89). The amount of pure solvent required in kg for the operation is
(A) 607 (B) 639 (C) 931 (D) 1501 GATE – 2007
Q.139. Benzene in an air-benzene mixture is to be reduced from 5.2 mol% in the feed
to 0.5 mol% by contacting with wash oil in a multistage countercurrent gas absorber.
The inlet flowrate of air benzene mixture is 10 mol/s while benzene free wash oil
comes in at 9.5 mol/s. If the equilibrium curve is given as Y* = X, where Y* and X are
equilibrium mole ratios of benzene in air and benzene in oil, the number of equilibrium
stages required to achieve the above separation is

(A) 12 (B) 10 (C) 8 (D) 6 GATE – 2007

Q.140. Given the following statements listed from P to T, select the correct
combination of TRUE statements from the choices that follow this list.
(P) Plate columns are preferred when the operation involves liquids containing
suspended solids.
(Q) Packed towers are preferred if the liquids have a large foaming tendency.
(R) The pressure drop through packed towers is more than the pressure drop
through plate columns designed for the same duty.
(S) Packed columns are preferred when large temperature changes are involved in
distillation operations.
(T) Packed towers are cheaper than plate towers if highly corrosive fluids must be
handled.
(A) T, S, P (B) P. Q. T (C) S, R, T (D) R, Q, S GATE – 2007
Q.141. In a countercurrent gas absorber, both the operating and equilibrium
relations are linear. The inlet liquid composition and the exit gas composition are
maintained constant. In order to increase the absorption factor
(A) the liquid flow rate should decrease
(B) the gas flow rate should increase
(C) the slope of the equilibrium line should increase
(D) the slope of the equilibrium line should decrease GATE – 2008
Q.142. A rectangular slab of thickness 2b along the x axis and extending to infinity along
the other direction is initially at concentration CAO. At me t=0, both surfaces of the
slab(x=+b) have their concentrations increased to CAW and maintained at that value. Solute
A diffuses into the solid. The dimensionless concentration C is defined as
The diffusivity of A inside the solid is assumed constant. At a certain me
instant, which ONE of the following is the correct representation of the
concentration profile ?

GATE – 2008
Q.143. In a binary mixture containing components A and B, the relative volatility of
A with respect to B is 2.5 when mole fractions are used. The molecular weights of A
and B are 78 and 92 respectively. If the compositions are however expressed in
mass fractions the relative volatility will then be
(A) 1.18 (B) 2.12 (C) 2.5 (D) 2.95 GATE – 2008
Q.144. An ideal flash vaporization is carried out with a binary mixture at constant
temperature and pressure. A process upset leads to an increase in the mole fraction
of the heavy component in the feed. The flash vessel continuous to operate at the
previous temperature and pressure and still produces liquid and vapor. Aer steady
state is re-established
(A) the amount of vapor produced will increase
(B) the amount of liquid produced will decrease
(C) The new equilibrium compositions of the vapor and liquid products will be
different,
(D) The new equilibrium compositions of the vapor and liquid products will remain
as they were before the upset occurred. GATE – 2008
Q.145. A batch distillation operation is carried out to separate a feed containing 100
moles of a binary mixture of A and B. The mole fraction of A in the feed is 0.7. The
distillation progresses until the mole fraction of A in the residue decreases to 0.6.
The equilibrium cure in this composition range may be linearized to y* = 0.7353 x
+ 0.3088. Here x and y are the mole fractions of the more volatile component A in
the liquid and vapor phases respectively. The number of moles of residue is
(A) 73.53 (B) 4l8.02 (C) 40 (D) 30.24 GATE – 2008
Q.145. A packed tower containing Berl saddles is operated with a gas-liquid system
in the countercurrent mode. Keeping the gas flow rate constant, if the liquid flow
rate is continuously increased,
(A) the void fraction available for the gas to flow will decrease beyond the loading
point
(B) the gas pressure drop will decrease,
(C) liquid will continue to flow freely down the tower beyond the loading point,
(D) the entrainment of liquid in the gas will considerably decrease near the flooding
point. GATE – 2008
Q.146. . A sparingly soluble solute in the form of a circular disk is dissolved in an organic
solvent s shown in the figure. The area available for mass transfer from the disk is A and the
volume of the initially pure organic solvent is V. The disk is rotated along the horizontal
plane at a fixed rpm to produce a uniform concentration of the dissolving solute in the liquid.
The convective mass transfer coefficient under these conditions is kc . The equilibrium
concentration of the solute in the solvent is C*. The me required for the concentration to
reach 1% of the saturation value is given by

GATE – 2008
Q.148. Air concentrated with solute P is brought in contact with water. At steady
state, the bulk concentrations of P in air and water are 0.3 and 0.02 respectively. The
equilibrium equation relating the interface compositions is ypi= 0.25 xpi. Assume
that the mass transfer coefficients FG and FL are identical. The gas phase mole
fraction of P at the interface (yP,i ) is
(A) 0.0663 (B) 0.075 (C) 0.16 (D) 0.3 GATE – 2008
Q.149. A feed (F) containing a solute is contacted with a solvent (S) in an ideal stage as
shown in the diagram below. Only the solute transfers into the solvent. The flow rates of
all the streams are shown on a solute free basis and indicated by the subscript S. The
compositions of the streams are expressed on a mole ratio basis. The extract leaving the
contactor is divided into two equal parts, one part collected as the product (P) and the other
stream is recycled to join the solvent. The equilibrium relationship is Y* = 2X. The
product flow rate (Ps) and composition (Yout) are

(A) PS = 50 mol/s, Yout = 0.3

(B) PS = 100 mol/s, Yout = 0.2
(C) PS = 200 mol/s, Yout = 0.1
(D) PS = 100 mol/s, Yout = 0.4 GATE – 2008
Q.150. According to the penetration theory of mass transfer, the mass transfer
coefficient (k) varies with diffusion coefficient (D) of the diffusing species as
(A) D (B) D-1/2 (C) D1/2 (D) D3/2 GATE – 2009
Q.151. The ratio of the liquid to gas flow rate in a counter-current gas absorption
column is increased at otherwise identical conditions. Which ONE of the following
statements is TRUE ?
(A) The operating line shifts towards the equilibrium curve
(B) The operating line shifts away from the equilibrium curve
(C) The concentration of the absorbed species increases in the exit liquid stream
(D) The operating line dies not shift GATE – 2009
Q.152. Species A is diffusing at steady state from the surface of a sphere (radius = 1
cm) into a stagnant fluid. If the diffusive flux at a distance r = 3 cm from the center
of the sphere is 27 mol/cm2 .s, the diffusive flux (in mol/cm2.s) at a distance r = 9
cm is
(A) 1 (B) 3 (C) 9 (D) 27 GATE – 2009
Q.153. The feed to a binary distillation column has 40 mol % vapor and 60 mol %
liquid. Then, the slope of the q-line in the McCabe Thiele plot is
(A) –1.5 (B) –0.6 (C) 0.6 (D) 1.5 GATE – 2009
Q.154. The equilibrium moisture curve for a solid is shown below :

The total moisture content of the solid is X and it is exposed to air of relative humidity H. In
the table below, Group I lists the types of moisture, and Group II represents the region in the
graph above
Group I Group II
P. Equilibrium moisture 1
Q. Bound moisture 2
R. Unbound moisture 3
S. Free moisture 4

Which ONE of the following is the correct match ?

(A) P-1, Q-2, R-3, S-4 (B) P-1, Q-3, R-4, S-2
(C) P-1, Q-4, R-2, S-3 (D) P-1, Q-2, R-4, S-3 GATE – 2009
Q.155. An equi-molar mixture of four hydrocarbons (1, 2, 3, 4) is to be separated into high
purity individual components using a sequence of simple distillation columns (one overhead
and one boom stream). Four possible schemes are shown below.

Component Ki
1 6
2 3
3 2.5
4 1.1
Using the Ki (= yi*/xi) values given above, the optimal scheme is
(A) P (B) Q (C) R (D) S GATE – 2009
Q.156. The flooding velocity in a plate column, operating at 1 atm pressure, is 3
m/s. If the column is operated at 2 atm pressure, under otherwise identical
conditions, the flooding velocity will be
(A) 3/√2 (B) 3/2 (C) 1 (D) ¾ GATE – 2010
Q.157. At 25°C and 90% relative humidity, water evaporates from the surface of a
lake at the rate of 1.0 kg/m2/h. The relative humidity that will lead to an evaporation
rate of 3.0 kg/m2/h, with other conditions remaining the same, is
(A) 30% (B) 50% (C) 60% (D) 70% GATE – 2010
Q.158. A liquid flows over a flat naphthalene plate of length L, at a Reynolds number
(ReL = Lρu∞ /μ) of 1500, as shown in the figure. The surface concentration of
naphthalene is CAs > CA∞ , and the surface temperature is Ts > T∞ , Assume Pr = Sc = 1.

If, at x = L, where and , then the Nusselt number and

the friction coefficient at x = L, are

GATE – 2010
Q.159. Water is used to absorb ammonia from a gas mixture in a single separation stage
contactor. The process is schematically represented in the figure below, The molar gas
and liquid flow rates, and the inlet mole fractions are given in the figure. Both the liquid
and the gas phases are well mixed, and the equilibrium relation between y and x is given
by y* = x.

Q.159. If the stage is ideal, then the value of y is

(A) 1/15 (B) 1/10 (C) 2/15 (D) 1/6 GATE – 2010
Q.160. If the stage efficiency is 50%, then the value of y is
(A) 1/12 (B) 1/6 (C) 1/4 (D) 1/3 GATE – 2010
Q.161. Ammonia (component 1) is evaporating from a partially filled bole into
surrounding air (component 2). The liquid level in the bole and the concentration of
ammonia at the top of the bole are maintained constant. Ni is the molar flux relative
to a fixed location in space and J, is the molar flux with respect to the average
molar velocity of the constituent species in the gas phase. Assume that air in the
bole is stagnant. Which ONE of the following is CORRECT ?
(A) N1 = constant, N2 = 0, J1 + J2 = 0
(B) N1 + N2 = 0, J1 + J2 = 0
(C) N1 + N2 = 0, J1 = constant, J2 = 0
(D) N1 = constant, N2 = 0, J1 = constant, J2 = 0 GATE – 2011
Q.162. A gas mixture is in contact with a liquid. Component P in the gas mixture is
highly soluble in the liquid. Possible concentration profiles during absorption of P are
shown in the choices, where
x : mole fraction of P in bulk liquid
y : mole fraction of P in bulk gas
xi : mole fraction of P at the interface in liquid
yi : mole fraction of P at the interface in gas
y* : equilibrium gas phase mole fraction corresponding to xi
The CORRECT profile is

GATE – 2011
Q.163. A batch of 120 kg wet solid has initial moisture content of 0.2 kg water / kg dry
solid. The exposed area for drying is 0.05 m2/kg dry solid. The rate of drying follows the
curve given below.

The time required (in hours) for drying this batch to a moisture content of 0.1 kg
water/kg dry solid is
(A) 0.033 (B) 0.43 (C) 0.6 (D) 2.31 GATE – 2011
Q.164. A binary feed mixture containing equimolar quantities of components S and
T is to be distilled in a fractionating tower at atmospheric pressure. The distillate
contains 96 mol % S. The q–line (feed line) intersects the equilibrium line at s =
0.46 and y = 0.66, where x and y are mole fractions. Assume that the McCabe –
Thiele method is applicable and the relative volatility is constant.

The MINIMUM reflux ratio is

(A) 1.6 (B) 1.5 (C) 0.66 (D) 0.6 GATE – 2011
Q.165. The feed is
(A) at dew point
(B) at bubble point
(C) superheated vapour
(D) partially vapour GATE – 2011
Q.166. In the McCabe-Thiele diagram, if the x-coordinate of the point of
intersection of the q-line and the vapor-liquid equilibrium curve is greater than
the x-coordinate of the feed point, then the quality of the feed is
(A) super-heated vapor
(B) liquid below bubble point
(C) saturated vapor
(D) saturated liquid GATE – 2012
Q.167. For which of the following combinations, does the absorption operation
become gas-film controlled ?
P. The solubility of gas in the liquid is very high
Q. The solubility of gas in the liquid is very low
R. The liquid-side mass transfer coefficient is much higher than the gas-side
mass transfer coefficient
S. The liquid-side mass transfer coefficient is much lower than the gas-side mass
transfer coefficient
(A) P & Q (B) P & R (C) P & S (D) Q & R GATE – 2012
Q.168. Consider the drying operation shown in the figure below for a solid loading (dry
basis) of 50 kg/m2 with a constant drying rate of 5 kg/m2 h. The falling rate of drying is
linear with moisture content.

The drying me (in hrs) required to reduce an initial moisture content of 25% to a final
moisture content of 2% is
(A) 1.55 (B) 1.75 (C) 3.25 (D) 4.55 GATE – 2012
Q.169. An equimolar mixture of A and B (A being more volatile) is flash distilled
continuously at a feed rate of 100 kmol/h, such that the liquid product contains 40
mol% of A. If the relative volatility is 6, then the vapor product, in kmol/h, is
(A) 10 (B) 20 (C) 25 (D) 45 GATE – 2012
Q.170. A counter-current extraction column is designed to remove 99% of solute C from a
solution of solvent A and solute C using pure solvent B. The initial concentration of solute
in the solution of A + C is 20 wt % and the total flow of solution is 1000 kg/h. If the
equilibrium relationship is Y=2X, where Y = mass of C/mass of A and X = mass of
C/mass of B.

(i) The minimum flow rate of solvent B required (in kg/h) is

(A) 1454 (B) 1584 (C) 1676 (D) 1874

(ii) If the flow rate of B is 2400 kg/h, then the theoretical number of stages in the column,
using Kremser’s equation (adjusted to the next integer) is
(A) 5 (B) 9 (C) 11 (D) 13 GATE – 2012
Q.171. The packing of an existing absorption tower is replaced with a new type of
packing. The height of the packing and the inlet conditions are maintained the same as
before. Tests reveal that the number of transfer units is lower than before. This indicates
that the tower with the new packing when compared to that with the old packing will
(A) have a higher rate of absorption of the solute from the gas stream
(B) have a lower rate of absorption of the solute from the gas stream
(C) have the same rate of absorption of the solute from the gas stream
(D) have a lower height rate of transfer unit GATE – 2013
Q.172. A wet solid is dried over a long period of time by unsaturated air of nonzero
constant relative humidity. The moisture content eventually attained by the solid is
termed as the
(A) unbound moisture content
(B) bound moisture content
(C) free moisture content
(D) equilibrium moisture content GATE – 2013
Q.173. The vapor-liquid equilibrium curve of a binary mixture A-B, may be
approximated by a linear equation over a narrow range of liquid mole fractions (0.2 <
xA < 0.3) as follows:

Here yA*is the mole fraction of A in the vapor. 100 moles of a feed (xA,F = 0.28) is batch
distilled to a final residue (xA,W = 0.2). Using the Rayleigh equation, the number of
moles of the residue left behind in the distillation unit, up to 2 digits after the decimal
point, is __________ GATE – 2013
Q.174. A crosscurrent cascade of N ideal stages is used to treat a feed stream of molar
flow rate E. The feed stream contains a solute which is to be recovered by a pure
solvent having a molar flow rate S. The solvent is divided equally between these N
stages. The linear equilibrium curve relating the mole fractions x and y* of the solute in
the raffinate and the extract respectively, is given by y* = mx. Assume dilute conditions.
The ratio of the solute mole fraction in the original feed to that in the exit raffinate
stream i.e. (xO/xN) is given by

GATE – 2013
Q.175. A study was conducted in which water was pumped through cylindrical pipes
made of a sparingly soluble solid. For a given pipe and certain flow conditions, the
mass transfer coefficient kc has been calculated as 1 mm/s using the correlation
Sh = 0.025 Re0.6 Sc0.33 If the velocity of the fluid and the diameter of the pipe are both
doubled, what is the new value of kc in mm/s, up to 2 digits after the decimal point ?
_________ GATE – 2013
Q.176. The vapor liquid equilibrium relation for an ideal binary system is given by

Here xA and are the mole fractions of species A in the liquid and vapor, respectively.
The relative volatility (αAB) is greater than unity.

(i) The liquid mole fraction xA at which the maximum difference between the
equilibrium vapor mole fraction and liquid mole fraction occurs is

GATE – 2013
Q.177. A liquid having the composition found in the first part of the linked answer
question is flash distilled at a steady state to a final liquid mole fraction of 0.25. If αAB is
2.5, the fraction of the feed vaporized is
(A) 0.08 (B) 0.20 (C) 0.67 (D) 0.74 GATE – 2013
Q.178. Packed towers are preferred for gas-liquid mass transfer operations with
foaming liquids because
(A) in packed towers, high liquid to gas ratios are best handled
(B) in packed towers, continuous contact of gas and liquid takes place
(C) packed towers are packed with random packing’s
(D) in packed towers, the gas is not bubbled through the liquid pool GATE – 2014
Q.179. A spherical storage vessel is quarter–filled with toluene. The diameter of the
vent at the top of the vessel is 1/20 th of the diameter of the vessel. Under the
steady state condition, the diffusive flux of toluene is maximum at
(A) the surface of the liquid
(B) the mid-plane of the vessel
(C) the vent
(D) a distance 20 times the diameter of the vent away from the vent GATE – 2014
Q.180. Assuming the mass transfer coefficients in the gas and the liquid phases are
comparable, the absorption of CO2 from reformer gas (CO2+H2 ) into an aqueous
solution of diethanolamine is controlled by
(A) gas phase resistance
(B) liquid phase resistance
(C) both gas and liquid phase resistances
(D) composition of the reformer gas GATE – 2014
Q.181. Which ONE of the following statements is CORRECT for the surface
renewal theory?
(A) Mass transfer takes place at steady state
(B) Mass transfer takes place at unsteady state
(C) Contact me is same for all the liquid elements
(D) Mass transfer depends only on the film resistance GATE – 2014
Q.182. A spherical ball of benzoic acid (diameter = 1.5 cm) is submerged in a pool
of still water. The solubility and diffusivity of benzoic acid in water are 0.03
kmol/m3 and 1.25 x 10 -9 m2/s respectively. Sherwood number is given as
Sh = 2.0 + 0.6 Re 0.5Sc0.33 . The initial rate of dissolution (in kmol/s) of benzoic
acid approximately is
(A) 3.54×10 -11 (B) 3.54×10 -12 (C) 3.54×10 -13 (D) 3.54×10 -14 GATE – 2014
Q.183. A wet solid of 100 kg is dried from a moisture content of 40 wt% to 10
wt%. The critical moisture content is 15 wt% and the equilibrium moisture content
is negligible. All moisture contents are on dry basis. The falling rate is considered
to be linear. It takes 5 hours to dry the material in the constant rate period. The
duration (in hours) of the falling rate period is
(A) 0.53 (B) 1.2 (C) 3.5 (D) 65.3 GATE – 2014
Q.184. A binary distillation column is operating with a mixed feed containing 20
mol% vapour. If the feed quality is changed to 80 mol% vapour, the change in the
slope of the q-line is
(A) 0.23 (B) 1.23 (C) 2.36 (D)3.75 GATE – 2014
Q.185. For a binary mixture of components A and B, NA and NB denote the total
molar fluxes of components A and B, respectively JA and JB are the corresponding
molar diffusive fluxes. Which of the following is true for equimolar counter-
diffusion in the binary mixture ?
(A) NA + NB = 0 and JA + JB ≠ 0
(B) NA + NB ≠ 0 and JA + JB = 0
(C) NA + NB ≠ 0 and JA + JB ≠ 0
(D) NA + NB = 0 and JA + JB = 0 GATE – 2015
Q.186. Benzene is removed from air by absorbing it in a non-volatile wash-oil at
100 kPa in a counter-current gas absorber. Gas flow rate is 100 mol/min, which
includes 2 mol/min of benzene. The flow rate of wash-oil is 50 mol/min. Vapor
pressure of benzene at the column conditions is 50 kPa. Benzene forms an ideal
solution with the wash-oil and the column is operating at steady state. Gas phase
can bee assumed to follow ideal gas law. Neglect the change in molar flow rates of
liquid and gas phases inside the column. For this process, the value of the
absorption factor (up to two decimal places) is _______. GATE – 2015
Q.187. A spherical naphthalene ball of 2 mm diameter is subliming very slowly in
stagnant air at 25ºC. The change in the size of the ball during the sublimation can
be neglected. The diffusivity of naphthalene in air at 25 ºC is 1.1 x 10-6 m2/s.

The value of mass transfer coefficient is B x 10-3 m/s, where B (up to one decimal
place) is _________. GATE – 2015
Q.187. Identify the WRONG statement amongst the following:
(A) Steam distillation is used for mixtures that are immiscible with water.
(B) Vacuum distillation is used for mixtures that are miscible with water.
(C) Steam distillation is used for mixtures that are miscible with water.
(D) Vacuum distillation columns have large diameters as compared to atmospheric
columns for the same throughput. GATE – 2015
Q.187. A multi-stage, counter-current liquid-liquid extractor is used to separate solute C
from a binary mixture (F) of A and c using solvent B. Pure solvent B is recovered from the
raffinate R by distillation, as shown in the schematic diagram below.

Locations of different mixtures for this process are indicated on the triangular diagram
below. P is the solvent-free raffinate, E is the extract, F is the feed and Δ is the difference
point from which the mass balance lines originate. The line PB intersects the bimodal
curve at U and T. The lines PΔ and FB intersect the bimodal at V and W respectively.

The raffinate coming out of the extractor is represented in the diagram by the point :
(A) T (B) U (C) V (D) W GATE – 2015
Q.190. A binary feed consisting of 25 mol% liquid and 75 mol% vapour is
separated in a staged distillation column. The mole fraction of the more volatile
component in the distillate product is 0.95. The molar flow rate of distillate us 50%
of the feed flow rate and the McCabe-Thiele method can be used to analyze the
column. The q-line intersects the operating line of the enriching section at (0.35,
0.5) on the x-y diagram. The slope of the stripping section operating line (up to one
decimal place) is __________ GATE – 2015
Q.191. Consider a steady state mass transfer process between well-mixed liquid
and vapour phases of a binary mixture comprising of components A and B. The
mole fractions of component A in the bulk liquid (xA) and bulk vapour (yA) phases
are 0.36 and 0.16, respectively. The mass transfer coefficients for component A in
liquid and vapour phases are 0.1 mol/(m2 .s) and 0.05 mol/(m2 .s), respectively. The
vapour-liquid equilibrium can be approximated as yA = 2 xA, for xA less than 0.4.
The mole fraction of A in the liquid at the interface (up to two decimal places) is
__________ . GATE – 2015
Q.192. Adsorption on activated carbon is to be used for reducing phenol
concentration in wastewater from 0.04 mol/1 to 0.008 mol/1. The adsorption
isotherm at the operating temperature can be expressed as q = 0.025C1/3; where q is
the phenol concentration in solid (mol/g solid) and C is the phenol concentration in
water (mol/1). The minimum amount of solid (in grams) required per liter of
wastewater (up to one decimal place) is ______________ GATE – 2015
Q.193. For what value of Lewis number, the wet-bulb temperature and adiabatic
saturation temperature are nearly equal ?
(A) 0.33 (B) 0.5 (C) 1 (D) 2 GATE – 2016
Q.194. A binary distillation column is to be designed using McCabe Thiele method.
The distillate contains 90 mol% of the more volatile component. The point of
intersection of the q-line with the equilibrium curve is (0.5, 0.7). The minimum
reflux ratio (rounded off to the first decimal place) for this operation is _______.
GATE – 2016
Q.195. Solute C is extracted in a batch process from its homogeneous solution of A and C,
using solvent B. The combined composition of the feed and the extracting solvent is
shown in the figure below as point M, along with the e line passing through it. The ends of
the e line are on the equilibrium curve.

What is the selectivity for C ?

(A) 3.5 (B) 7 (C) 10.5 (D) 21 GATE – 2016
Q.196. At 30°C, the amounts of acetone adsorbed at partial pressures of 10 and 100
mmHg are 0.1 and 0.4 kg acetone/kg activated carbon, respectively. Assume
Langmuir isotherm describes the adsorption of acetone on activated carbon. What
is the amount of acetone adsorbed (in kg per kg of activated carbon) at a partial
pressure of 50 mmHg and 30°C?
(A) 0.23 (B) 0.25 (C) 0.30 (D) 0.35 GATE – 2016
Q.197. Consider the following two cases for a binary mixture of ideal gases A and
B under steady state conditions. In Case 1, the diffusion of A occurs through non-
diffusing B. In Case 2, equimolal counter diffusion of A and B occurs. In both the
cases, the total pressure is 100 kPa and the partial pressures of A at two points
separated by a distance of 10 mm are 10 kPa and 5 kPa. Assume that the Fick’s first
law of diffusion is applicable. What is the ratio of molar flux of A in Case 1 to that
in Case 2?
(A) 0.58 (B) 1.08 (C) 1.58 (D) 2.18 GATE – 2016
Q.198. Which of the following conditions are valid at the plait point ?
P) Density difference between the extract and raffinate phases is zero
Q) Interfacial tension between the extract and raffinate phases is zero
R) Composition difference between the extract and raffinate phases is zero
(A) P and Q only (B) Q and R only
(C) P and R only (D) P, Q and R GATE – 2017
Q.199. The composition of vapour entering a tray in a distillation column is 0.47,
The average composition of the vapor leaving the tray is 0.53. The equilibrium
composition of the vapour corresponding to the liquid leaving this tray is 0.52. All
the compositions are expressed in mole fraction of the more volatile component.
The Murphree efficiency based on the vapour phase, rounded to the nearest integer,
is ______%. GATE – 2017
Q.200. Consider steady state mass transfer of a solute A from a gas phase to a liquid
phase. The gas phase bulk and interface mole fractions are yA,G and yA,l ,
respectively. The liquid phase bulk and interface mole fractions are xA,L and xA,l ,
respectively. The ratio

is very close to zero. This implies that mass transfer resistance is

(A) negligible in the gas phase only
(B) negligible in the liquid phase only
(C) negligible in both the phases
(D) considerable in both the phases GATE – 2017
Q.201. The vapour phase composition and relative volatilities (with respect to n-
propane) on an ideal tray of a distillation column are

Component Methane Ethane n-Propane

Mole fraction in vapour 0.12 0.28 0.60
Relative volatility 10 4 1

The mole fraction of n-propane in the liquid phase rounded to 2 decimal places, is
_________ GATE – 2017
Q.201. In a countercurrent stripping operation using pure steam, the mole ration of a
solute in the liquid stream is reduced from 0.25 to 0.05. The liquid feed flowrate on a
solute-free basis, is 3 mol/s. The equilibrium line for the system is given in the figure
below.

The MINIMUM flowrate of pure steam for this process, rounded to 1 decimal place, is
_____ mol/s. GATE – 2017
Q.201. In a batch adsorption process 5 g of fresh adsorbent is used to treat 1 liter of
an aqueous phenol solution. The initial phenol concentration is 100 mg/liter. The
equilibrium relation is given by q* = 1.3C ; where q* is the amount of phenol
adsorbed in mg of phenol per gram of adsorbent and C is the concentration of
phenol in mg/liter in the aqueous solution. When equilibrium is attained between
the adsorbent and the solution, the concentration of phenol in the solution, rounded
to 1 decimal place, is _________ mg/litre. GATE – 2017
Q.202. According to the surface renewal theory, the unit of fractional rate of surface
renewal is
(A) m2 s-2
(B) m2 s-1
(C) m s-1
(D) s-1 GATE – 2018
Q.203. For absorption of H2S from a mixture with hydrocarbon vapour into an
aqueous alkanolamine solution, the liquid phase mass transfer resistance is
(A) significantly higher than that of the gas phase
(B) negligible compared to that of the gas phase
(C) equal to that of the gas phase
(D) dependent on the gas phase mass transfer resistance GATE – 2018
Q.204. 1It is decided to extract A from a feed containing 20 mol% A and 80 mol%
B in two ideal cross-current stages as shown below, using equal amount of pure
solvent C in each stage.

Components B and C are immiscible. 60% of A in the feed is extracted in Stage 1.

The equilibrium relation is given by Y* = 1.5 X where, X = moles of A per mole of
B in raffinate Y* = moles of A per mole of C in extract in equilibrium with raffinate
The mol % of A in raffinate from Stage 2 is __________ (rounded off to second
decimal place).
GATE – 2018
Q.205. A binary distillation column is designed by McCabe-Thiele method to get a
distillate mole fraction of 0.9. The enriching section operating line has an intercept
with y-axis at 0.3 mole fraction. The ratio of liquid to vapour molar flow rate in the
enriching section is _____________ (rounded off to third decimal place). GATE – 2018
Q.206. A fiberboard sheet (1.5 m × 2.0 m × 15 mm) is being dried by suspending it
horizontally in a current of hot, dry air. The edges are insulated so that drying takes
place only from the top and bottom surfaces. The wet sheet weighing 16 kg with
initial moisture content of of 60% loses moisture at a constant rate of 1.25 × 10-5
kg m-2 s-1 until the moisture content falls to 30%. All moisture contents are on dry
basis. The time required for drying during constant rate period (in hour) is
_____________ (rounded off to third decimal place). GATE – 2018
Q.207. An azeotropic mixture of ethanol and water is to be separated in a
distillation column using benzene as an entrainer. At the column operating
conditions, two liquid phases are formed on a tray. The degree(s) of freedom of the
system for the choice of intensive properties at equilibrium is(are) ___________
GATE – 2018
Q.208. The humidity of air at a dry-bulb temperature of 65 0C is 0.025 kg water/kg
dry air. The latent heat of vaporization of water at 0 0C is 2500 kJ/kg. The
psychrometric ratio of air is 0.95 kJ (kg dry air)-1 K-1 . Considering 0 0C as reference
temperature, the enthalpy of air (in kJ/kg) at its adiabatic saturation temperature of
35 0C is ___________ (rounded off to two decimal places). GATE – 2018
Q.209. In the drying of non-dissolving solids at constant drying conditions, the
internal movement of moisture in the solid has a dominant effect on the drying rate
during
(A) the initial adjustment period only
(B) the constant rate period only
(C) the falling rate period only
(D) both the initial adjustment and constant rate periods GATE – 2019
Q.210. Three distillation schemes for separating an equimolar, constant relative
volatility ABC mixture into nearly pure components are shown. The usual
simplifying assumptions such as constant molal overflow, negligible heat loss, ideal
trays are valid. All the schemes are designed for minimum total reboiler duty. Given
that the relative volatilities are in the ratio αA : βB : γC = 8: 2:1, the correct option
that arranges the optimally designed schemes in ascending order of total reboiler
duty is

(A) I, II, III

(B) III, I, II
(C) II, I, III
(D) III, II, I
GATE – 2019
Q.211. Two spherical camphor particles of radii 20 cm and 5 cm, far away from
each other, are undergoing sublimation in a stream of air. The mass transfer
coefficient is proportional to

where r is the radius of the sphere at time t. Assume that the partial pressure of
camphor far away from the surface of the particle is zero. Also, assume quasi-steady
state, identical ambient conditions, and negligible heat effects. If t1 and t2 are the
times required for complete sublimation of the 20 cm and 5 cm camphor particles,
respectively, the ratio t1/ t2 is _____________ (rounded off to one decimal place).
GATE – 2019
Q.212. A countercurrent absorption tower is designed to remove 95% of component
A from an incoming binary gas mixture using pure solvent B. The mole ratio of A in
the inlet gas is 0.02. The carrier gas flow rate is 50 kmol/h. The equilibrium relation
is given by Y = 2X, where Y and X are the mole ratios of A in the gas and liquid
phases, respectively. If the tower is operated at twice the minimum solvent flow
rate, the mole ratio of A in the exit liquid stream is _______________ (rounded off
to three decimal places).
GATE – 2019
Q.213. A binary mixture with components A and B is to be separated in a distillation
column to obtain 95 mol% A as the top product. The binary mixture has a constant
relative volatility 𝛼AB = 2. The column feed is a saturated liquid containing 50 mol%
A. Under the usual simplifying assumptions such as constant molal overflow,
negligible heat loss, ideal trays, the minimum reflux ratio for this separation is
___________________ (rounded off to one decimal place). GATE – 2019
Q.214. Pure gas P is being absorbed into a liquid. The dissolved P undergoes an
irreversible reaction in the liquid film. The reaction is first order with respect to P.
Which one of the following represents the concentration profile of P in the liquid
film at steady state?

GATE – 2020
Q.215. Consider a batch distillation process for an equimolar mixture of benzene
and toluene at atmospheric pressure. The mole fraction of benzene in the distillate
collected after 10 minutes is 0.6. The process is further continued for additional10
minutes. The mole fraction of benzene in the total distillate collected after 20
minutes of operation is
(A) less than 0.6
(B) exactly equal to 0.6
(C) exactly equal to 0.7
(D) greater than 0.7 GATE – 2020
Q.216. SO2 from air is absorbed by pure water in a counter current packed column operating
at constant pressure. The compositions and the flow rates of the streams are shown in the
figure.

In addition, use the following data and assumptions

• Column operates under isothermal conditions
• At the operating temperature of the column,
y* = 40x. where y* is the mole fraction of SO2
in the gas that is in equilibrium with water containing
SO2 at a mole fraction of x
• Negligible amount of water evaporates
• Solution is dilute and the operating line is linear
The number of transfer units (NTU) for this column is
(A) 0.5 (B) 1.0 (C) 1.5 (D) 2.0 GATE – 2020
Q.217. Two film theory applies for absorption of a solute from a gas mixture into a
liquid solvent . The interfacial mass transfer coefficient (in mol m-2s-1) for the gas
side is 0.1. and for the liquid side is 3. The equilibrium relationship is y*= 2x, where
x and y* are mole fractions of the solute in the liquid and gas phases, respectively.
The ratio of the mass transfer resistance in the liquid film to the overall resistance is
(A) 0.0161
(B) 0.0322
(C) 0.0625
(D) 0.0645 GATE – 2020
Q.218. Consider the equilibrium data for methanol-water system at 1 bar given in
the figure below.

A distillation column operating at 1.0 bar is required to produce 92 mol % methanol

. The feed is a saturated liquid. It is an equimolar mixture of methanol and water.
The minimum reflux ratio is
(A) 0.33 (B) 0.50 (C) 0.54 (D) 1.17 GATE – 2020
Q.219. Equilibrium data for a binary mixture of F and F at two different pressures is
shown in the figure.
It is desired to process a feed containing 80 mol %
E and 20 mol % F, and obtain a product with a
purity of 99.5 mol % E. A sequence of two
distillation columns , one operating at pressure PI
and another at P2 is employed for this operation,
As shown below.

Mole fraction of E in the distillate obtained from

column 1 is 0.9. If the column pressures PI and PII
are in kPa. which one of the following is correct?

(A) PI = 100, P2 = 20, and high purity E is recovered from the top of column 2
(B) PI = 100, P2 = 20, and high purity E is recovered from the bottom of column 2
(C) PI = 20, P2 = 100, and high purity E is recovered from the top of column 2
(D) PI = 20, P2 = 100, and high purity E is GATE – 2020
Q.220. Two ideal cross-current stages operate to extract P from a feed containing P
and Q as shown below.

The mass flow rales of P and Q fed to Stage 1 are 1,000 kg h-1 and10,000 kg h-1
respectively. Pure solvent (S) is injected at mass flow rates of 5,000 kg h-1and
15,000 kg h-1 to Stages 1 and 2, respectively. The components Q and S are
immiscible. The equilibrium relation is given by Y* = 1.5X where X is the mass of
P per unit mass of Q in the raffinate. and Y* is the mass of P per unit mass of S in
the extract, which is in equilibrium with the raffinate. The mass flow rate of P (in kg
h-1) in the raffinate from Stage 2 is________(round off to nearest integer). GATE – 2020
Q.221. Consider a vertically falling film of water over an impermeable wall. The film is in
contact with a static pool of non-reactive pure gas. The gas diffuses into the water film
over the entire height of the falling film. The height of the film is 1.0 m and its thickness is
10-4 m. The velocity of water, averaged over the film thickness, is 0.01 m s-1. The gas
concentration (in kg m-3) averaged over the film thickness is
Where y is the vertical position in meters measured from the top of the wall.
In addition, use the following data and assumptions
• The flow is fully developed
• The width of the film is much larger than the thickness of the film, and the dissolved gas
concentration is invariant over this width
• The solubility of the gas in water. CAi is constant
• Pure water enters at y = 0
• The evaporation of water is negligible. The mass transfer coefficient on the liquid side (in
mm s-1). averaged over the entire height of the falling film is_______ (round off to 3
decimal places) GATE – 2020
Q.222. Feed solution F is contacted with solvent B in an extraction process. Carrier liquid
in the feed is A and the solute is C. The ternary diagram depicting a single ideal
stage extraction is given below. The dashed lines represent the tie-lines.

The CORRECT option(s) is/are

(A) For the tie-lines shown, concentration of solute in the extract is higher than that in the
raffinate
(B) Maximum amount of solvent is required if the mixture composition is at W
(C) Y represents the composition of extract when minimum amount of solvent is used
(D) U represents the raffinate composition if the mixture composition is at M GATE – 2021
Q.223. In a solvent regeneration process, a gas is used to strip a solute from a liquid in a
countercurrent packed tower operating under isothermal condition. Pure gas is used in this
stripping operation. All solutions are dilute and Henry’s law, Y* = mx , is applicable. Here,
y* is the mole fraction of the solute in the gas phase in equilibrium with the liquid phase of
solute mole fraction x, and m is the Henry’s law constant. Let x1 be the mole fraction of
the solute in the leaving liquid, and x2 be the mole fraction of solute in the entering liquid.
When the value of the ratio of the liquid-to-gas molar flow rates is equal to m, the overall
liquid phase Number of Transfer Units, NTUOL, is given by

(A) (B)

(C) (D)
GATE – 2021
Q.224. A distillation column handling a binary mixture of A and B is operating at
total reflux. It has two ideal stages including the reboiler. The mole fraction of the
more volatile component in the residue (xW) is 0.1. The average relative volatility
αAB is 4. The mole fraction of A in the distillate (xD) is _______________ (round off
to 2 decimal places). GATE – 2021
Q.225. In a batch drying experiment, a solid with a critical moisture content of 0.2
kg H2O/kg dry solid is dried from an initial moisture content of 0.35 kg H2O/kg dry
solid to a final moisture content of 0.1 kg H2O/kg dry solid in 5 h. In the constant
rate regime, the rate of drying is 2 kg H2O/(m2.h). The entire falling rate regime is
assumed to be uniformly linear. The equilibrium moisture content is assumed to be
zero. The mass of the dry solid per unit area is _____________ kg/m2 (round off to
nearest integer). GATE – 2021
Q.226. As shown in the figure below, air flows in parallel to a freshly painted solid surface
of width 10 m, along the z-direction.

The equilibrium vapor concentration of the volatile component A in the paint, at the air-
paint interface, is CA,i. The concentration CA decreases linearly from this value to zero along
the y-direction over a distance 𝛿 of 0.1 m in the air phase. Over this distance, the average
velocity of the air stream is 0.033 m s–1 and its velocity profile (in m s-1) is given by vz(y) =
10y2 where y is in meter. Let CA,m represent the flow averaged concentration.
The ratio of CA,m to CA,i , is _______________ (round off to 2 decimal places). GATE – 2021