Many practical problems, such as the evaporation of water from a lake under the
influence of the wind or the mixing of two fluids as they flow in a pipe, involve
diffusion in a moving medium where the bulk motion is caused by an external
force.
Mass diffusion in such cases is complicated by the fact that chemical species are
transported both by diffusion and by the bulk motion of the medium (i.e.,
convection).
The velocities and mass flow rates of species in a moving medium consist of two
components: one due to molecular diffusion and one due to convection.
We limit our consideration to systems that
involve only two components (species A
and B) in one-dimensional flow (velocity
and other properties change in one
direction only, say the x-direction). We also
assume the total density (or molar
concentration) of the medium remains
constant.
Vdiff,A: Diffusion velocity, which is the average
velocity of a group of molecules at that location
moving under the influence of concentration
gradient.
V: Flow velocity, which is the bulk flow velocity
of the moving medium.
Velocity?
VA
VB
V
Mass flow rate?
mA
mB
m
Turbulent flow is desired in most mass transfer operations:
▪ to increase the rate of transfer per unit area
▪ to help disperse one fluid in another
▪ to create more interfacial area.
Convective mass transfer: transfer of mass between a surface and a moving
fluid due to both mass diffusion and bulk fluid motion.
Mass convection is also complicated because of the complications associated
with fluid flow such as the surface geometry, flow regime, flow velocity, and the
variation of the fluid properties and composition.
Often, mass transfer is unsteady state.
Mass transfer by convection involves:
▪ Between a boundary surface (solid/liquid) and a moving fluid
▪ Between 2 relatively immiscible moving fluids.
Convection is divided into two types:
▪ Forced convection
▪ Natural convection
3 regions of mass transfer:
▪ Adjacent to the surface, a thin, viscous sublayer film is
present. Most of mass transfer occurs by molecular
diffusion. A large concentration drop occurs across this
film as a result of slow diffusion rate.
▪ Transition or buffer region is adjacent to the first
region. Some eddies are present and the mass
transfer is the sum of turbulent and molecular diffusion.
▪ Turbulent region adjacent to the buffer region, most of
the transfer is by turbulent diffusion, with a small
amount by molecular diffusion. Concentration
decrease is very small since the eddies tend to keep
the fluid concentration uniform.
dc A
J *
A = − ( D AB +M )
dz
εM is the mass eddy diffusivity in m2/s
Note: εM varies at different points from the surface, therefore average M value
is used
D AB + M
J * A1 = ( c A1 − c A 2 )
z 2 − z1
Flux J*A1 is based on the surface area A1 since the
cross sectional area may vary.
z2-z1 (distance of the path) is often not known,
hence the equation is simplified using a
convective mass transfer coefficient, k’c
J * A1 = kc (c A1 − c A 2 )
J*A1 : flux of A from the surface A1relative to the
whole bulk phase
k’c is (DAB+ )/(z2-z1)
M
What are the factors affecting 𝒌’𝒄?
The mass-transfer coefficient is related to:
1. The properties of the fluid
2. The dynamic characteristics of the flowing fluid
3. The geometry of the specific system of interest
There are four methods of evaluating convective mass-
transfer coefficients:
1. dimensional analysis coupled with experiment
2. analogy between momentum, energy, and mass
transfer
3. exact laminar boundary-layer analysis
4. approximate boundary-layer analysis
N A ( gases ) = k G ( p A1 − p A 2 ) = k y ( y A1 − y A 2 ) = k c (c A1 − c A 2 )
N A ( liquids ) = k x ( x A1 − x A 2 ) = k L ( c A1 − c A 2 ) = k c (c A1 − c A 2 )
yA = mole fraction in gas phase
xA = mole fraction in liquid phase
N A ( gases ) = k G ( p A1 − p A 2 ) = k y ( y A1 − y A 2 ) = k c (c A1 − c A 2 )
N A ( liquids ) = k c ( c A1 − c A 2 ) = k x ( x A1 − x A 2 ) = k L (c A1 − c A 2 )
k c k x
kc = , kx =
x BM x BM
x B 2 − x B1
x BM =
ln( x B 2 / x B1 )
P p BM
k cc = k c = kc = k G P = k G p BM = k y y BM = k y = k c y BM c = k G y BM P
RT RT
kcc = k L c = k L xBM c = k L / M = k x = k x xBM
k c , k L , k c , k L = m / s
kgmol
k x , k y , k x , k y =
s.m 2 .mol frac
kgmol kgmol
k G , k G = 2
or 2
s.m .Pa m .atm
A large volume of pure gas B at 2 atm pressure
is flowing over a surface from which pure A is
vaporizing. The liquid A completely wets the
surface, which is a blotting paper. Hence, the
partial pressure of A at the surface is vapor
pressure of A at 298 K, which is 0.2 atm. The k’y
has been estimated to be 6.78 x 10-5 kg
mol/s.m2.mol frac. Calculate NA, the
vaporization rate and also the value of ky and kG.
1
5
A value of kG was experimentally determined to be
1.08 lb mol/h.ft2.atm for A diffusing through stagnant
B. For the same flow and concentrations it is
desired to predict k’G and the flux of A for equimolar
counterdiffusion. The partial pressures are pA1 =
0.20 atm, pA2 = 0.05 atam and P = 1.0 atm abs
total.
