Topic 3.

0: Convective Mass Transfer

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Convective Mass Transfer coefficient
3.3 Significant parameters in convective mass transfer
3.4 The application of dimensional analysis to Mass Transfer
3.4.1 Transfer into a stream flowing under forced convection
3.4.2 Transfer into a phase whose motion is due to natural convection
3.5 Analogies among mass, heat, and momentum transfer
3.5.1 Reynolds analogy
3.5.2 Chilton – Colburn analogy
3.6 Convective mass transfer correlations
3.6.1 For flow around flat plat
3.6.2 For flow around single sphere
3.6.3 For flow around single cylinder
3.6.4 For flow through pipes
3.7 Simultaneous heat and mass transfer
3.7.1 Condensation of vapor on cold surface
3.7.2 Wet bulb thermometer
3.1 Introduction
• Mass transfer by convection involves the transport
of material between a boundary surface (such as
solid or liquid surface) and a moving fluid or
between two relatively immiscible, moving fluids.
• There are two different cases of convective mass
transfer:
1. Mass transfer takes place only in a single phase either
to or from a phase boundary, as in sublimation of
naphthalene (solid form) into the moving air.
2. Mass transfer takes place in the two contacting phases
as in extraction and absorption.
3.2 Convective Mass Transfer Coefficient
•• In the study of convective heat transfer, the heat flux is connected to
 
heat transfer coefficient as:

• The analogous situation in mass transfer is handled by an equation

of the form :

• The molar flux NA is measured relative to a set of axes fixed in space.

• The driving force is the difference between the concentration at the
phase boundary, CAS (a solid surface or a fluid interface) and the
concentration at some arbitrarily defined point in the fluid medium, CA
.
• The convective mass transfer coefficient kc is a function of geometry
of the system and the velocity and properties of the fluid similar to
the heat transfer coefficient, h.
2.3 Significant Parameters in Convective
Mass Transfer and Methods of Evaluating
Mass Transfer Coefficients (MTCs)
• Generally four methods are used in evaluating
MTCs:
 Dimensionless analysis parameters coupled with
experiments are often used to correlate convective
transfer data.
 Exact boundary - layer analysis
 Approximate boundary layer – analysis
 Analogy between momentum, energy and mass
transfer
Contd
• The
  molecular diffusivities of the three transport
process (momentum, heat and mass) have been
defined as:

• Each of the diffusivities has the dimensions of L2 / t,

hence, a ratio of any of the two of these must be
dimensionless.
contd
• The
  ratio of the molecular diffusivity of momentum
to the molecular diffusivity of heat is designated as
the Prandtl number (Pr):

• The ratio of molecular diffusivity of momentum to

the molecular diffusivity of mass is designated the
Schmidt number (Sc):

• The ratio of the molecular diffusivity of heat to the

molecular diffusivity of mass is designated the
Lewis number (Le), and is given by:
contd
• Let us consider the mass transfer of solute A from a solid to a
fluid flowing past the surface of the solid.
• The concentration and velocity profile is depicted in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1 The concentration and velocity profile of solid

dissolving in fluid
contd
• The
  mass transfer between the solid surface
and the fluid may be written as:

• Mass transfer at the surface is by molecular

diffusion, the mass transfer may also described
by:

• When the boundary concentration, is constant,

eqn. 9 may be written as:
contd
•  
•
Equating eqns. 1.a and 10:

•Rearranging:

•The RHS of eqn.13 is the ratio of concentration gradient

at the surface to an overall or ratio of molecular mass
transport resistance to convective mass transport
resistance of the fluid (Sherwood number, Sh and
analogous to Nu number for heat transfer)
3.4 Application of Dimensionless Analysis
• One of the method of obtaining equations for
predicting mass-transfer coefficients is the use of
dimensionless analysis.
• Dimensional analysis predicts the various
dimensionless parameters which are helpful in
correlating experimental data.
• There are two important mass transfer processes:
1. The transfer of mass into a steam flowing under
forced convection
2. The transfer of mass into a phase which is moving as
the result of natural convection associated with
density gradients.
3.4.1 Transfer into a stream flowing under Forced
Convection
• Consider
  the transfer of mass from the walls of a
circular conduit to a fluid flowing through the conduit.
• The mass transfer is due to the concentration driving
force CAs – CA .
• The result of the dimensional analysis of mass transfer
by forced convection in a circular conduit indicates
that a correlating relation could be of the form:

• Which is analogous to heat transfer correlation:

3.4.2 Transfer into a phase whose motion is due to
Natural Convection
•• Natural
  convection currents develop if there exists any
variation in density within the fluid phase.
• The density variation may be due to temperature differences
or to relatively large concentration differences.
• The result of the dimensional analysis of mass transfer by
natural convection indicates that a correlating relation could
be of the form:

• where the Grashof number in heat transfer by natural

convection:
3.5 Analysis among Mass, Heat and
Momentum Transfer
•• Analogies
  among mass, heat and momentum transfer have
their origin either in the mathematical description of the
effects or in the physical parameters used for quantitative
description.
• Diffusion in one dimension is described by the Fick’s Law as:

• Similarly, heat conduction is described by Fourier’s law as:

• Similarly momentum equation is given by Newton’s law as:

contd
• The similarity among the transfer phenomena
and the existence of the analogies require
that the following five conditions exist within
the system:
1. The physical properties are constant
2. There is no mass or energy produced within the system
(no chemical reaction within the system)
3. There is no emission or absorption of radiant energy
4. There is no viscous dissipation of energy
5. The velocity profile is not affected by the mass transfer
(there should be a low rate of mass transfer)
3.5.1 Reynolds Analogy
• Osborne
  Reynolds (1874) reported the analogous
behavior of mass, heat and momentum transfer.
• The application served as the base for seeking better
analogies.
• Reynolds postulated that the mechanisms for transfer of
momentum, energy and mass are identical, i.e.:

• where h is the heat transfer coefficient

f is the friction factor
is the velocity of free stream
• This relation is found to be accurate when Prandtl and
Schmidt numbers are equal to one.
3.5.2 Chilton – Colburn Analogy
•• Chilton
  and Colburn, using experimental data, sought modifications
to the Reynold’s analogy that would not have the restrictions that
Prandtl and Schmidt numbers must be equal to one.
• They defined for the j factor for mass transfer as:

• The analogous j factor for heat transfer is:

• Based on data for both laminar and turbulent flow regimes:

• This analogy is valid for gases and liquids within the range of 0.6 < Sc
< 2500 and 0.6 < Pr < 100.
3.6 Convective Mass Transfer Correlations
• Extensive data have been obtained for the transfer
of mass between a moving fluid and certain
shapes, such as flat plates, spheres and cylinders.
• The techniques include sublimation of a solid,
vaporization of a liquid into a moving stream of air
and the dissolution of a solid into water.
• The data have been correlated in terms of
dimensionless parameters and the equations
obtained are used to estimate the mass transfer
coefficients in other moving fluids and
geometrically similar surfaces.
3.6.1 Flat Plate
•Several
  correlations are available from
experimental measurements of rate of
evaporation from a liquid surface or from the
sublimation rate of a volatile solid surface
into a controlled air-stream
•These correlation have been found to satisfy
the equations obtained by theoretical
analysis on boundary layers:
contd
•  Using the definition of j factor for mass
transfer on equation 20 and 21 we obtain:

• These equations may be used if the Schmidt

number in the range 0.6 < Sc < 2500.
3.6.2 Single Sphere
•• Correlations
  for mass transfer from single spheres are
represented as addition of terms representing transfer by
purely molecular diffusion and transfer by forced convection,
in the form:

• where C, m and n are constants, the value of n is normally

taken as 1/3
• For very low Reynold’s number, the Sherwood number should
approach a value of 2.
• Therefore the generalized equation becomes:
contd
• For
  mass transfer into liquid streams, the equation
given by Brain and Hales:

• correlates the data that are obtained when the

mass transfer Peclet number, PeAB is less than
10,000.
• This Peclet number is equal to the product of
Reynolds and Schmidt numbers (i.e.):
3.6.3 Single Cylinder
• Several
  investigators have studied the rate of
sublimation from a solid cylinder into air flowing
normal to its axis.
• Bedingfield and Drew correlated the available data
in the form:

• which is valid for 400 < Reʼ < 25000 and 0.6 < Sc <
2.6
• Where Reʼ is the Reynold’s number in terms of the
diameter of the cylinder, Gm is the molar mass
velocity of gas and P is the pressure.
3.6.4 Flow Through Pipes

• Mass
  transfer from the inner wall of a tube to a
moving fluid
• Gilliland & Sherwood studied the rate of
vaporization of nine different liquids into air and
came up with the correlation:

• This expression has been found to be valid over

the range 2000 < Re < 35000 and 0.6 < Sc < 2.5
contd
• Modification
  of Linton and Sherwood for large
ranges of Schmidt number:

• valid for 2000 < Re < 70000 and 1000 < Sc < 2260
3.7 Simultaneous Heat and Mass Transfer
• Diffusional
  mass transfer is generally accompanied
by the transport of energy, even with in an
isothermal system.
• Since each diffusing constituent carries its own
individual enthalpy, the heat flux at a given plane is
expressed as:

• where q is the heat flux due to diffusion of mass

past the given plane, and is the partial molar
enthalpy of constituent i in the mixture.
contd
•• When
  there is a temperature difference, energy transfer
also occurs by one of the three heat transfer mechanisms
(conduction, convection, radiation) ; for example, the
equation for energy transport by convection and molecular
diffusion becomes:

• If the heat transfer is by conduction, the first term on the

right hand side of eqn. 2 becomes kΔT/L
• where L is the thickness of the phase through which
conduction takes place.
• The most common examples of processes involving heat
and mass transfer are condensation of mist on a cold
surface and in wet bulb thermometer and formation of fog
and in cooling towers.
3.7.1 Condensation of vapor on cold surface
•• The
  condensation of a vapor upon a cold surface process
important in many engineering processes as well as in day – to –
day events.
• Examples include “sweating” on cold water pipes and the
condensation of moist vapor on a cold surface.
• The heat flux passing through the liquid film is given by:

• This flux is also equal to the total energy transported by

convection and molecular diffusion in the gas film:

• where MA is the molecular weight of the diffusing constituent A,

H1 and H2 are enthalpies of the vapor at plane 1 and liquid at
plane 2.
contd
•  From equation 3 and 4

• The molar flux NA is calculated by diffusion through

stagnant gas model as:
3.7.2 The Wet – bulb Thermometer

• Another example of simultaneous heat and mass transfer is that

taking place in wet-bulb thermometer.
• This convenient device for measuring relative humidity of air
consists of two conventional thermometers, one of which is clad in
a cloth nick wet with water.
• The unclad dry-bulb thermometer measures the air’s temperature.
• The clad wet-bulb thermometer measures the colder temperature
caused by evaporation of the water.
• We want to use this measured temperature difference to calculate
the relative humidity in air.
• This relative humidity is defined as the amount of water actually in
the air divided by the amount at saturation at the dry-bulb
temperature.
contd
•• To
  find this humidity, we can write equation for the mass and
energy fluxes as:

And

• Where CAi and CA are the concentrations of water vapor at the wet
bulb’s surface and in the bulk of air, yAi and yA are the corresponding
mole fractions ; Ti is the wet-bulb temperature, and T is the dry-
bulb temperature and y Ai is the value at saturation at Ti.
• Using the Chilton-Colburn analogy (jH=jD):

• where λ is the latent heat of vaporization of water and Cp is the

humid heat of air.