Mass Transfer

Kenneth M. Soriano, EIT, AMIChemE

 Diffusion
• In separation processes involving mass
transfer, component of one or more species
must move from one phase to another phase.
• Diffusion is the movement of the chemical
species occuring in one phase across the
interface, and into another phase.
• The diffusional transfer of mass is a result of
concentration gradient.
Diffusion
Molecular Theory of Diffusion
Diffusion
Diffusion
Diffusion
Diffusion
 Diffusivities
• Table 2-324
• Q1 What is the DC6H6/Air at 0˚C, 1 atm?
 Diffusivities
• Table 2-324
• Q2 What is the DAir/C6H6 at 0˚C, 1 atm?
 Diffusivities
• Q3 What is the DC6H6/Air at 22˚C, 1 atm?
 Diffusivities
• Table 2-325
• Q4 What is the DHAc/H2O at 25˚C, 1 atm?
• Q5 What is the DHAc/H2O at 25˚C, 2 atm?
 Diffusivities
• Table 2-235
• Q6 What is the DHAc/H2O at 50˚C, 1 atm?
 Evaluation of Diffusivity
• Chapman and Engskog Equation (Geankoplis,
1995)

• Chen and Othmer Equation (McCabe and

Smith, 1993)
 Evaluation of Diffusivity
• Gilliland Equation (Brown, 1950)

• For Liquids, Stokes-Einstein Equation

(Geankoplis, 1995)
 Evaluation of Diffusivity
• For Liquids, Wilke and Chang Equation
(Treybal, 1968)
 Turbulent Diffusion
• So far, the diffusional mechanism is analyzed in
terms of the molecular viewpoint, applicable for
stationary or laminar flow phases where
interfacial area and distances of diffusion are well
defined.
• These situations, although controllable in
laboratory experimentation, are seldom satisfied
in actual chemical process industries, where mass
transfer occurs in phases in turbulent motion
 Turbulent Diffusion
• As a result, interphase mass transfer will proceed
not only by molecular diffusion, but also by the
convective effect as a consequence of the wave
or eddy produced by the turbulence of the fluids
in continuous contact.
• To conceptually describe the mass transfer
mechanism, the effect of this eddy diffusion
denoted primarily by the Reynolds number must
be superimposed on the molecular or laminar
diffusion mechanism
 Turbulent Diffusion
• The general rate equation is therefore written
as:
Mass Transfer
Mass Transfer
 Number 1
• The enrichment of ethyl alcohol in the vapor
phase from an aqueous ethyl alcohol solution
during rectification is an example of
A) Unicomponent diffusion
B) Equimolal counterdiffusion
C) Phase drift
D) Convective diffusion
 Number 2
• The transport mechanism analogy for
momentum and heat transfer deviates with
mass transfer due to
A) Different driving forces
B) Different transfer areas
C) Different resistances
D) None of these
 Number 3
• The diffusivity of a binary system as given in
the equation of Fick’s Law is usually measured
relative to the
A) Stationary observer
B) Velocity of earth as it rotates around the sun
C) Mass-mean velocity of component A
D) Volume-mean velocity of components A and
B
 Number 4
• The diffusivity of a component A relative to
itself, that is DAA
A) Has no physical meaning
B) Has a physical meaning but can not be
measured
C) Has a physical meaning and can be measured
D) It can not be described
 Number 5
• The Reynolds Analogy is applied when
A) The Reynolds number is less than 2100
B) Prandtl number is unity
C) The Prandlt number is not equal to one
D) No mass transfer is involved
 Number 6
• The molar flux of component A in molecular
diffusion is independent of
A) Mass transfer area
B) Concentration gradient
C) Total pressure
D) temperature
 Number 7
• A dimensionless number that represents the
ratio of the mass transferred by molecular
diffusion to the total mass transferred is
A) Sherwood Number
B) Reynolds Number
C) Schmidt Number
D) None of these
 Number 8
• The molar diffusion flux A relative to a
stationary plane is a combination of
A) NA + NB + molecular diffusion
B) Fick’s law of diffusion and diffusivity
C) Phase drift + molecular diffusion
D) Bulk diffusion and pressure diffusion
 Number 9
• The Fick’s Law of Diffusion gives the rate of
diffusion based on
A) Pressure driving force
B) Temperature driving force
C) Concentration driving force
D) All of these
 Number 10
• Equimolar counter-diffusion means that the
A) Bulk in terms of mass is not moving
B) Concentration driving force is zero
C) Convective flux is very high
D) Bulk in term of moles is not moving
 Number 11
• For a gas phase diffusion, unicomponent
diffusion through a gas-liquid interface will
likely to occur if
A) One component is soluble and the other is
not
B) Both components are soluble in the solvent
C) Both components are insoluble in the solvent
D) None of these
 Number 12
• The rate of mass transfer of component A
through an interface in a turbulent flow
system is less affected by
A) Concentration gradient A
B) Mass transfer area
C) Thickness of the laminar films adjacent to the
interface
D) The flow rate of gas and liquid
 Number 13
• For binary unicomponent diffusion, the
concentration profile of the diffusing
component along the diffusion path is
A) Linear
B) Quadratic
C) Logarithmic
D) None of these
 Number 14
• The analogy between mass and heat transfer
is complete when
A) The temperature gradient and concentration
gradient are equal
B) No convective flux or phase drift is involved
C) The resistance to mass and heat transfer are
negligible
D) The momentum transfer rate is negligible
 Number 15
• A wetted-wall column is usually used to
determine mass transfer coefficient
experimentally because
A) The mass transfer area can be measured
accurately
B) The concentration gradient can be measured
directly
C) There is no better device to use
D) It is an inexpensive piece of equipment
 Number 16
• It provides the basis for the quantitative
description of the diffusional phenomena of
molecules
A) Stokes-Einstein Postulation
B) Kinetic Theory of Gases
C) Thermal Diffusion
D) Potential Theory
 Number 17
• The method of solute transfer which involves
rapid movement of large chunks of fluid in
turbulent motion
A) Molecular diffusion
B) Eddy diffusion
C) Thermal diffusion
D) Kinetic transport
 Number 18
• Ammonia (A) being absorbed from air (N) into
water is an example of
A) Steady state equimolal diffusion
B) Steady state unicomponent diffusion
C) Steady state diffusion in multicomponent
mixtures
D) Unsteady state equimolal diffusion
 Number 19
• In steady-state equimolal counterdiffusion,
the following are true:
A) NB = 0, NA constant
B) NA = -NB ; NA + NB is zero
C) NA = 0 ; NB is nonzero
D) NA + NB = constant
 Number 20
• The flux of A in unicomponent diffusion is
greater than in equimolal diffusion because of
A) The molecular diffusion of A relative to a
fixed point
B) The bulk motion of the phase
C) The concentration gradient of B is zero
D) The flux of A relative to the average molar
velocity
 Number 21
• It represents the total mass transferred to
mass transferred by molecular diffusion
A) Sherwood Number
B) Schmidt Number
C) Reynolds Number
D) Nusselt Number
 Number 22
• It is a measure of the diffusive mobility of
individual molecules in solution
A) Eddy diffusivity
B) Diffusion coefficient
C) Mass transfer coefficient
D) Thermal diffusion
 Number 23
• The volumetric diffusivity of a binary mixture
is 0.934 ft2/hr at 30 deg C and 2 atm. The
molal diffusivity for a similar mixture is _____
lbmole/ft-hr
A) 4.6888 x 10-3
B) 0.05
C) 2.344 x 10-3
D) None of these
 Number 24
• The diffusivity of benzene in air at 0 deg C and
1 atm is 0.299 ft2/hr. The diffusivity of
benzene in air at 22 deg C and 1 atm is
A) 0.0772 cm2/s
B) 0.299 ft2/hr
C) 0.089 cm2/s
D) 0.0722 ft2/hr
 Number 25
Ethyl alcohol is diffusing into an alcohol-water
solution at 18 deg C. The concentration of
alcohol in the bulk of the solution is negligible,
while that at the surface of the solution is 0.12
g/cc. The film thickness is 0.15 cm and the
diffusivity is 1 x 10-5 cm2/s. The mass of alcohol
diffusing through 100 ft2 of interface per hour
A) 6 lb C) 0.016 g-mole
B) 5 lb D) 0.0026 g-mole
 Number 26
• The diffusivity of ethyl alcohol in air is 25 deg
C and 1 atm is 0.135 cm2/s. Based on Chen
and Othmer diffusivity empirical correlation,
the diffusivity at 80 deg C, in cm2/s, is
A) 0.1816
B) 0.1740
C) 0.1834
D) 0.0944
 Number 27
• The diffusivity of the air in ethyl alcohol at 25
deg C and 3 atm in ft2/hr is
A) 0.1744
B) 1.569
C) 0.523
D) None of these
 Number 28
• Using the appropriate analogy, estimate the
MTC in ft/hr for NH3-air-water system in a
wetted wall column where NRe = 25000 , NSc =
1.8 and the velocity of the gas is 1.2 ft/s
A) 6.8
B) 5.6
C) 0.578
D) 8.76 ft/hr
 Number 29
• Acetic acid is diffusing in aqueous solution at
298 K inside a 2 cm diameter tube 100 cm
long. Determine the total diffusion rate of
alcohol in g-mole/s if the concentration at one
end is 0.125 and on the other end 0.051
gmole/cm3.
A) 7.25 x 10-6 C) 2.93 x 10-8
B) 1.54 x 10-8 D) 2.9 x 10-6
 Special Problem
• Benzene at 22 deg C is contained in an open
circular tank with D = 6.5 m. The benzene is
exposed to atmosphere such that the liquid
surface is covered with a stagnant air film of
approx. 5 mm thick. Assume that the benzene
above the stagnant film is negligible. If
benzene is worth 4 pesos/Li, what is the value
of benzene lost per day?
 Number 30
• A 4 mm diameter, 40 cm long, closed at one
end and standing vertically on its closed end,
is partially filled with a liquid up to 18 mm
from the open top. A gentle stream of air is
flowing across the top of the tube. The
temperature of the liquid remains constant at
17˚C. Diffusion takes place through the still air
in the tube above the liquid. After 4 hours and
10 min the liquid level in the tube goes down
 Number 30
by 9.5 mm. The vapor pressure of the liquid is
165 mmHg and atmospheric pressure is 1 atm.
Density of the liquid is 790 kg/m3. MW = 58.
The mass diffusivity of the liquid vapor in air is
A) 1.91 x 10-5
B) 1.91 x 10-5
C) 1.75 x 10-5
D) None of these
 Number 31
• A sphere of naphthalene having radius of 2 mm is
suspended in a large volume of still air at 318 K
and 1 atm. The surface temperature of the
naphthalene can be assumed to be 318 K. The
diffusivity at 318 K and 1 atm is 6.92 x 10-6 m2/s
and its vapor pressure at 318 K is 0.555 mmHg.
The rate of evaporation of naphthalene in
g/mole/s
A) 4.9 x 10-15 C) 4.5 x 10-9
B) 9.68 x 10-5 D) 9.7 x 10-5
 Number 32
• The unicomponent mass transfer coefficient is
3.25 x 10-5 kg mole/s-m2-mole at 300K and 2
atm. If yA1 = 0.26 and yA2 = 0.01, the
equimolal MTC is _____ kg mole/s-m2-mole.
A) 2.792 x 10-5
B) 1.25 x 10-5
C) 5.65 x 10-5
D) 0.98 x 10-6
 Number 33
• The equivalent equimolal MTC for the above
problem in lb mole/hr-ft2-atm frac is
A) 0.0543
B) 0.0205
C) 1.34
D) 0.069
 Number 34
• Based on the penetration theory, the MTC will
increase/decrease by a factor of _____ if the
contact time of the diffusing phases is tripled.
A) 0.421
B) 0.21
C) 1.63
D) 0.5773
Number 35