Fundamental of Mass Transfer

By
Omar Mustafa Hussein
 1- Convert a composition given
in mass fraction to mole
Your fraction, and the reverse.
objectives in
studying this
section are 2- Transform a material from
one measure of concentration
to be able to: to another, including
mass/volume and
moles/volume.
Definition of mass transfer:

Mass transfer What is the meaning of species?

• Mass transfer is mass in transit • A species may be a single atom
as the result of a species or a complex poly-atomic
concentration difference in a molecule. It can also be
mixture. A species concentration appropriate to identify a mixture
gradient in a mixture provides (such as air) as a species.
the driving potential for
transport of that species.
Example of Mass Transfer in Chemical
Engineering Processes

Distillation Gas absorption Adsorption

operation

Liquid Membrane
Extraction separation
Analogy between heat and mass transfer
We can develop an understanding of mass transfer in a
short time with little effort by simply drawing parallels
between heat and mass transfer.

Temperature
• Both heat and mass are
transferred from the more
concentrated regions to the less
concentrated ones.
• If there is no difference between
the concentrations of a species at
different parts of a medium, there
will be no mass transfer.
Types of Mass Transfer

Conduction
Mass is transferred by •
conduction (called diffusion))

Convection
Convection
Mass convection (or convective mass transfer) is the mass transfer mechanism between a surface and a moving fluid
that involves both mass diffusion and bulk fluid motion.
Fluid motion also enhances mass transfer considerably.

Rate of mass convection

hmass the mass transfer coefficient

As the surface area
Cs − C a suitable concentration difference across the concentration boundary layer.
Mass Transfer Theories
Velocities and Fluxes
Your objectives in studying this section
are to be able to:

2- Write down an expression to

1- Define the following terms: calculate the mass (or molar)
mass-average velocity, molar- flux relative to a fixed
average velocity, mass (or coordinate system in terms of
molar) flux, and diffusion mass the diffusion mass (or molar)
(or molar) flux. flux and the bulk motion
contribution.
 Mass diffusion
Fick’s law of diffusion states that the rate of diffusion of
a chemical species at a location in a gas mixture (or
liquid or solid solution) is proportional to the
concentration gradient of that species at that location.

1 Mass Basis
On a mass basis, concentration is expressed in terms of density
(or mass concentration).

The density of a mixture at a location is equal to the sum of the

densities of its constituents at that location.
2 Mole Basis
On a mole basis, concentration is expressed in terms of molar concentration (or molar density), which is the
amount of matter in kmol per unit volume.
How the mass and no. of mole are related to each
other?
Special Case: Ideal Gas Mixtures
At low pressures, a gas or gas mixture can conveniently be approximated as an ideal gas with negligible
error.
The total pressure of a gas mixture P is equal to the sum of the partial pressures Pi of the individual gases
in the mixture..
Here Pi is called the partial pressure of species i, which is the
pressure species i would exert if it existed alone at the mixture
temperature and volume (Dalton’s law of additive pressures).
Then using the ideal gas relation PV = NRuT where Ru is the
universal gas constant for both the species i and the mixture, the
pressure fraction of species i can be expressed as

The pressure fraction of species i of an ideal

gas mixture is equivalent to the mole fraction
of that species and can be used in place of it
in mass transfer analysis.
Problem 1.1
The composition of dry standard atmosphere is given on molar basis to be 78.1 % N2, 20.9 % O2 and 1.0
percent Ar and small amounts of other constituents. Treating other constituents as Ar, determine the mass
fraction of the constituents of Air.
The composition of dry standard
atmosphere is given on molar basis to be
77.9 % N2, 20.3 % O2 and 1.0 percent Ar and
small amounts of other constituents.
Treating other constituents as Ar, determine
the mass fraction of the constituents of Air.
Problem 1.2
Determine the mole fraction of the water vapor at the surface of a lake whose temperature is 15 oC and
compare it to the mole fraction of water in the lake. Take the atmospheric pressure at lake level to be 92 kPa
What is the meaning of mass
or molar fluxes? The mass flux of species 𝑖 with respect to coordinates that are fixed
The mass (or molar)flux of a given species is in space is defined by
a vector quantity denoting the amount of the
particular species, in either mass or molar
units, that passes per given unit time through
a unit area normal to the vector.
The flux may be defined with reference
1- to coordinates that are fixed in space,
2- coordinates which are moving with the
mass-average velocity, or
3- coordinates which are moving with the
molar-average velocity The molar flux of species 𝑖 with respect to coordinates that are fixed
in space is given by
Fick’s Law of Diffusion:
Stationary Medium Consisting of Two Species
Fick’s law of diffusion

Here jdiff, A is the (diffusive)

mass flux of species A (mass
transfer by diffusion per unit
time and per unit area normal
to the direction of mass
transfer, in kg/s·m2) and
is the (diffusive) molar flux (in
kmol/s·m2).
19
 Fick’s Law of Diffusion

The rate equation for mass diffusion is known as Fick’s

law, and for transfer of species A in a binary mixture of
A and B, it may express in vector form as: The species flux may also be evaluated on a molar basis

𝑘𝑔
𝑠. 𝑚2
 What is the meaning of mass or molar fluxes?
The mass flux of species 𝑖 with respect to coordinates The mass diffusion flux of species 𝑖 with respect to the mass-
that are fixed in space is defined by: average velocity is given by

The molar diffusion flux of species 𝑖 with respect to the molar-

average velocity is given by
The molar flux of species 𝑖 with respect to coordinates
that are fixed in space is given by
Mass and Molar diffusion fluxes:
Mass Diffusivity

Fick’s law defines a second important transport property,

coefficient or mass diffusivity, DAB. namely, the binary diffusion

Its fundamental dimensions are obtained from:

 DAB for the binary mixture of two gases, A and B
has been given considerable attention
for predicting DAB:

- Because molecular velocities increase with rise of

temperature T, so the diffusivity will increase. For gas,
the diffusivity is proportional to T 1.5 .
- As the pressure P increases, the molecules become
closer together and the mean free path is shorter and
consequently the diffusivity is reduced. so, diffusivity for
a gas becoming approximately inversely proportional to
the pressure.
1. The diffusion coefficients, in general, are highest in gases
and lowest in solids. The diffusion coefficients of gases are
several orders of magnitude greater than those of liquids.
2. Diffusion coefficients increase with temperature. The
diffusion coefficient (and thus the mass diffusion rate) of
carbon through iron during a hardening process, for
example, increases by 6000 times as the temperature is
raised from 500°C to 1000°C.
DAB=DBA
The value of DAB for certain
combinations of components
are available in literature. It
can be proved that DAB = DBA .
When one molecule of A
moves in the x direction, one
molecule of B has to move in
the opposite direction.
Otherwise, a macroscopic
density gradient will develop,
which is not sustainable, (A is
area)
Conservation of
species for a control
volume
The rate at which the mass of some species
enters a control volume, plus the rate at
which the species mass is generated within
the control volume, minus the rate at which
this species mass leaves the control volume
must equal the rate of increase of the species
mass stored within the control volume.
The Mass Diffusion Equation:
Adding Terms to Mass diffusion Equation
- May be volumetric chemical reaction occurring through out the
medium perhaps non-uniformly.
- The rate at which species A is generated within the control volume
due to such reactions may be expressed as
where ˙nA is the rate of increase of the mass of species A
per unit volume of the mixture
(kg · s −1 · m−3 ).

- A stored within the control volume, and the rate of change is:
Conservation Equation
Simplifying Conservation Equation ….
• Simplified equation of the foregoing equations can be written as
follows if DAB and ρ are constant:

• Similarly, if DAB and c are constant, Equations can be simplified as

follows:
Other geometry for Conservation Equations:
• Cylindrical Coordinates:

• Spherical Coordinates:
Mass Transfer Theories

Assignment 1
Problem 1.1

• Beginning with a differential control volume, derive the diffusion equation,

on a molar basis, for species A in a three-dimensional (Cartesian
coordinates), stationary medium, considering species generation with
constant properties.
Problem 1.2

• Consider the radial diffusion of a gaseous species (A) through the wall of a
plastic tube (B), and allow for chemical reactions that provide for the
depletion of A at a rate N˙ A (kmol · s −1 · m−3 ). Derive a differential
equation that governs the molar concentration of species A in the plastic.
Problem 1.3

• The pressure in a pipeline that transports helium gas at a rate of 2 kg/s is

maintained at 1 atm by venting helium to the atmosphere through a 5-mm-
internal-diameter tube that extends 15 m into the air as shown in figure beside.
Assuming both the helium and the atmospheric air to be 25 oC, determine:

• A- the mass flowrate of helium lost to the atmosphere through the tube.
• B- the mass flowrate that infiltrates into the pipeline
• C- the flow velocity at the bottom of the tube where it is attached to the pipeline
that will be measured by an anemometer in steady operation
Problem 1.4

• A thin plastic membrane is used to separate helium from a gas

stream. Under steady-state conditions the concentration of helium in
the membrane is known to be 0.02 and 0.005 kmol · m−3 at the inner
and outer surfaces, respectively. If the membrane is 1 mm thick and
the binary diffusion coefficient of helium with respect to the plastic is
10−9m2 · s −1 , what is the diffusive flux?
Boundary Conditions
Lecture 3
Types of Diffusion
Ordinary diffusion: The primary driving mechanism of mass diffusion is the concentration gradient, and
mass diffusion due to a concentration gradient is known as the ordinary diffusion.
Temperature gradients in a medium can cause thermal diffusion (also called the soret effect), and
pressure gradients may result in pressure diffusion.
Forced diffusion: An external force field such as an electric or magnetic field applied on a mixture or
solution can be used successfully to separate electrically charged or magnetized molecules (as in
an electrolyte or ionized gas) from the mixture.
Knudsen diffusion: When the pores of a porous solid such as silica-gel are smaller than the mean free
path of the gas molecules, the molecular collisions may be negligible and a free molecule flow may
be initiated.
Surface diffusion: When the size of the gas molecules is comparable to the pore size, adsorbed
molecules move along the pore walls.
Brownian motion: Particles whose diameter is under 0.1 m such as mist and soot particles act like
large molecules, and the diffusion process of such particles due to the concentration gradient is
called Brownian motion.
Boundary Conditions
• For a surface at x = 0, the constant surface species concentration
boundary condition is expressed as:

To take a familiar example, consider a pool of water that is exposed to air. If we are interested in determining the rate
at which water vapor is transferred into the air, we would need to specify the water vapor concentration in the air at
the air–water interface.
Evaporation and Sublimation
• A common mass transfer scenario is the transfer of a species A
into a gas stream due to evaporation or sublimation from a liquid
or solid surface, respectively (Figure beside). Conditions within
the gas phase are of interest, and the concentration (or partial
pressure) of species A in the gas phase at the interface (located at
x =0) may readily be determined from Raoult’s law:

• Raoult’s law applies if the gas phase can be approximated as ideal and the
liquid or solid phase has a high concentration of species A.
• If the liquid or solid is a pure species A, that is, xA = 1, Equation
simplifies to pA(0) =pA,sat. That is, the partial pressure of the vapor at
the interface corresponds to saturated conditions at the temperature
of the interface and may be determined from standard
thermodynamic tables.
Boundary Conditions
(1) specified species concentration, which corresponds to specified temperature
(2) specified species flux, which corresponds to specified heat flux.
• Solubility: The maximum amount of solid that can be dissolved in a
liquid at a specified temperature.

• Henry’s constant H: The product of the total pressure of the gas

mixture and the proportionality constant.
Solubility and Henry’s constant.
Solubility of Gases in
Liquids and Solids
• Another common scenario is mass transfer
of species A from a gas phase into a liquid or
solid, species B (Figure Beside ). Mass
transfer within the liquid or solid phase is of
interest, and the concentration of species A
at the interface is required as a boundary
condition.
• If species A is only weakly soluble (xA is
small) in a liquid, Henry’s law may be used
to relate the mole fraction of A in the liquid
to the partial pressure of A in the gas phase
outside the liquid:
1. The concentration of a gas dissolved in a liquid is inversely proportional to
Henry’s constant. The larger the Henry’s constant, the smaller the
concentration of dissolved gases in the liquid.
2. Henry’s constant increases (and thus the fraction of a dissolved gas in the
liquid decreases) with increasing temperature. Therefore, the dissolved
gases in a liquid can be driven off by heating the liquid.
3. The concentration of a gas dissolved in a liquid is proportional to the
partial pressure of the gas. The amount of gas dissolved in a liquid can be
increased by increasing the pressure of the gas. This can be used to
advantage in the carbonation of soft drinks with CO2 gas.
Problem 1.4
• Determine the mole fraction of air dissolved in water at the surface of
the lake whose temperature is 17 oC. Take the atmospheric pressure
at lake level to be 92 kPa.
Solubility : The maximum amount of solid that can be dissolved in a liquid at a
specified temperature.

Gas-Solid interface
Problem 1.3 Diffusion of Hydrogen Gas into
Nickel Plate
• Consider a nickel plate that is in contact with hydrogen gas at 358 K
and 300 kPa. Determine the molar and mass density of hydrogen in
the nickel at the interface.
Solved Problem

• Hydrogen gas is maintained at 3 bars and 1 bar on opposite sides of a plastic

membrane, which is 0.3 mm thick. The temperature is 25oC, and the binary
diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in the plastic is 8.7 10-8 m2 /s. The solubility
of hydrogen in the membrane is 1.5 × 10-3 kmol/m3 bar. What is the mass
diffusive flux of hydrogen through the membrane?
Mass Transfer Scenario
Lecture 5
Stationary Media with
Specified Surface
Concentrations :Plane
wall

Note:
1- No chemical reaction
2- Steady-state
3- one dimensional diffusion of species A
through a planar medium of A, and B
STEADY MASS
DIFFUSION THROUGH A
WALL- Mass Basis

Many practical mass transfer problems

involve the diffusion of a species
through a plane-parallel medium that
does not involve any homogeneous
chemical reactions under one-
dimensional steady conditions.

diffusion resistance of
the wall
The rate of mass diffusion through a plane wall is proportional
to the average density, the wall area, and the concentration
difference across the wall, but is inversely proportional to the
wall thickness.
STEADY MASS
DIFFUSION THROUGH A
WALL- Mole Basis

molar diffusion resistance of

the wall in s/kmol
Stationary Media with Specified Surface Concentrations :
Cylindrical coordinates

The analogy also applies to cylindrical and

system.

For the following condition:

1-one-dimensional,
2- steady diffusion in a cylindrical,
3- nonreacting medium, 𝑟
ln(𝑟2 )
Equation below: 𝑅𝑚,𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓 = 1
2𝜋𝐿𝐷𝐴𝐵

𝑁𝐴,𝑟 = (𝐶𝐴,𝑠1 − 𝐶𝐴,𝑠2 )/𝑅𝑚,𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓

 Steady one-dimensional mass transfer through nonreacting cylindrical
and spherical layers

Mass Basis Molar basis

Stationary Media with
Specified Surface
Concentrations
:Spherical System
It will be reduced according to the following
condition:
1- one-dimensional
2- steady-state
3-No reaction

𝑁𝐴,𝑟 = (𝐶𝐴,𝑠1 − 𝐶𝐴,𝑠2 )/𝑅𝑚,𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓

Diffusion of Hydrogen through a spherical
container
• Pressurized hydrogen gas is stored at 358 K in a 4.8 m outer diameter spherical container made of nickel. The shell of the
container is 6 cm thick. The molar concentration of hydrogen in the nickel at the inner surface is determined to be 0.087
kmol/m3. Thoncentration oh hydrogen in the nickel at the outer surface is negligible. Determine the mass flow rate of
hydrogen diffusion through the nickel container.
Solved Problem

• Hydrogen stored in a vessel diffuses through the steel wall of 20 mm

thickness. The molar concentration at the inner surface is 2 kg mol/m3. At
the other surface it is zero. Assuming plane wall condition and Dab = 0.26 ×
10–12 m2/s, determine the mass of hydrogen diffused per 1 m2.
Solved Problem

• Consider the diffusion of hydrogen (species A) in air, liquid water, or iron

(species B) at T=293 K. Calculate the species flux on both molar and mass
bases if the concentration gradient at a particular location is dCA/dx = 1
kmol/m3 . m. Compare the value of the mass diffusivity to the thermal
diffusivity. The mole fraction of the hydrogen, xA, is much less than unity
Solved Problem

• The efficacy of pharmaceutical products is reduced by prolonged

exposure to high temperature, light, and humidity. For water vapor
sensitive consumer products that are in tablet or capsule form and
might be stored in humid environments such as bathroom medicine
cabinets, blister packaging is used to limit the direct exposure of the
medicine to humid conditions until immediately before its ingestion.
Consider tablets that are contained in a blister package composed of
a flat lidding sheet and a second, formed sheet that includes troughs
to hold each tablet. The formed sheet is L= 50 micrometer thick and
is fabricated of a polymer material. Each trough is of diameter D= 5
mm and depth h= 3 mm. The lidding sheet is fabricated of aluminum
foil. The binary diffusion coefficient for water vapor in the polymer is
DAB = 6×10-14 m2/s while the aluminum may be assumed to be
impermeable to water vapor. For molar concentrations of water
vapor in the polymer at the outer and inner surfaces of CA,s1=4.5
×10-3 kmol/m3 and CA,s2 =0.5× 10-3 kmol/m3 , respectively, determine
the rate at which water vapor is transferred through the trough wall
to the tablet.
Diffusion of Vapor through a stationary gas:
Stefan Flow
• Many engineering applications such as heat pipes, cooling ponds, and
the familiar perspiration involve condensation, evaporation, and
transpiration in the presence of a non-condensable gas, and thus the
diffusion of a vapor through a stationary (or stagnant) gas.
• To understand and analyze such processes, consider a liquid layer of
species A in a tank surrounded by a gas of species B, such as a layer of
liquid water in a tank open to the atmospheric air at constant
pressure P and temperature T.
This relation is known as Stefan’s law,
and the induced convective flow
described that enhances mass
diffusion is called the Stefan flow.
Equimolar Counter Diffusion
Solubility: The maximum amount of solid that can be dissolved in a liquid at a specified temperature.
Diffusion in a moving medium
• Examples:
• Evaporation of water from lake under the
influence of the wind or the mixing of two
fluids in a pipe ]and bulk motion is caused by
an external force.
• Mass diffusion in such cases is done by
the mass diffusion and by the bulk motion
of the medium.
• In a moving medium mass transfer is due
to both diffusion and convection.
Case (a): There will be no mass transfer by molecular diffusion or convection
since no concentration gradient or bulk motion exist.

Case (b): Corresponds to the flow of well mixed fluid mixture through a
pipe. No concentration gradient and thus the molecular diffusion in
this case and all species move at the bulk velocity.

Case (c): The mixture is stationary and it corresponds to ordinary

molecular diffusion in stationary mediums

Case (d): Involves both molecular diffusion and convection and the velocity
in this case is equal to the sum of the bulk flow velocity and diffusion
velocity
 When there is no concentration gradient, no molecular mass diffusion occur in the fluid. The
velocity of all species equal to:

When there is concentration gradient, there will be

simultaneous flow of species in the direction of
decreasing concentration at a diffusion velocity of Vdiff.
The mass flow rate at any flow section is expressed as:
Any time the species A diffuses in one direction, an equal
amount of species B must diffuse in the opposite direction to
maintain the density (or the molar concentration) constant.
This behavior is closely approximated by dilute gas mixtures
and dilute liquid or solid solutions. For example, when a
small amount of gas diffuses into a liquid, it is reasonable to
assume the density of the liquid to remain constant.
On molar basis:

The rates of diffusion of species A and B must

be equal in magnitude but opposite in sign.
Mass Convection
Convective Mass Transfer
• Now we consider mass convection (or convective mass transfer),
which is the transfer of mass between a surface and a moving fluid
due to both mass diffusion and bulk fluid motion.
• Mass convection is usually analyzed on a mass basis rather than on a
molar basis.

Concentration boundary layer:

In mass convection, the region of the fluid in
which concentration gradients exist.
Development of concentration boundary layer for species A
during external flow on a flat surface.
In internal flow, we have a concentration
entrance region where the concentration
profile develops, in addition to the
hydrodynamic and thermal entry regions.
The concentration boundary layer
continues to develop in the flow direction
until its thickness reaches the tube center
and the boundary layers merge.
The distance from the tube inlet to the
location where this merging occurs is
called the concentration entry length Lc,
and the region beyond that point is called
the fully developed region.

In mass transfer, the

Schmidt plays the role of
the Prandtl number in heat
transfer.
A Schmidt number of near unity
(Sc = 1) indicates that momentum
and mass transfer by diffusion are
comparable, and velocity and
concentration boundary layers
almost coincide with each other.
 rate of mass convection

average mass
transfer coefficient
 hmass is the mass transfer coefficient
DAB is the mass diffusivity.
The Nusselt and Sherwood numbers
represent the effectiveness of heat
and mass convection at the surface,
respectively.

The Sherwood number can be obtained

from the Nusselt number expression by
simply replacing the Prandtl number by
the Schmidt number.

For natural
convection
mass transfer
 Natural
convection
mass transfer

Aapplicable to both temperature- and/or

concentration-driven natural convection flows.
 Quiz 5

• What is meaning of convective mass transfer?

• Plot the development of the velocity, thermal, and concentration
boundary layers in internal flow.
Special Case: Pr  Sc  1 (Reynolds Analogy)

This relation is known as the Reynolds

analogy, and it enables us to determine the
seemingly unrelated friction, heat transfer,
and mass transfer coefficients when only
one of them is known or measured.
 Chilton–Colburn analogy

For air–water vapor mixtures: Lewis

relation
This relation is commonly used in air-conditioning
applications.
Another important consequence of Le  1 is that the
wet-bulb and adiabatic saturation temperatures of
moist air are nearly identical. In turbulent flow, the
Lewis relation can be used even when the Lewis
number is not 1 since eddy mixing in turbulent flow
overwhelms any molecular diffusion, and heat and
mass are transported at the same rate.
Under low mass flux conditions, the mass convection coefficients can be determined by either
(1) determining the friction or heat transfer coefficient and then using the Chilton–Colburn
analogy or (2) picking the appropriate Nusselt number relation for the given geometry and
analogous boundary conditions, replacing the Nusselt number by the Sherwood number and
the Prandtl number by the Schmidt number.

Mass
Convection
Relations
Solved Problem
• Consider a circular pipe of inner diameter D=0.015 m whose inner
surface covered with a layer of liquid water as a result of
condensation. In order to dry the pipe, air at 300K and 1 atm is forced
to flow through it with an average velocity of 1.2 m/s. Using the
analogy between heat and mass transfer, determine the mass transfer
coefficient inside the pipe for developed flow.
Solved problem
• Heat transfer coefficient in a complex geometry with complicated boundary
conditions can be determined by mass transfer measurements on similar
geometries under similar flow conditions using volatile solids such as
naphthalene and dichlorobenzene and utilizing Chilton-Colburn analogy between
heat and mass transfer at low flux condition. The amount of mass transfer during
a specified time period is determined by weighing the model or measuring the
surface recission.
• During the experiment involving the flow of dry air at 25 oC and 1 atm at a free
stream velocity of 2m/s over a body covered with a layer naphthalene, it
observed that that 12 g of naphthalene has sublimated in 15 minute. The surface
area of the body is 0.3 m2. both air and the body were ket at 25 oC during the
study. The vapor pressure of naphthalene at 25 oC is 11 pa and the mass
diffusivity of naphthalene in air at 25 oC is DAB =0.61*10-5 m2/s. Determine the
heat transfer coefficient under the same flow condition over the same geometry.
 Limitation on the Heat–Mass Convection Analogy
The Nusselt numbers are usually evaluated for smooth surfaces, but many mass
transfer problems involve wavy or roughened surfaces.
Many Nusselt relations are obtained for constant surface temperature situations,
but the concentration may not be constant over the entire surface because of the
possible surface dry out.
The blowing or suction at the surface during mass transfer may also cause some
deviation, especially during high speed blowing or suction.
The heat–mass convection analogy is valid for low mass
flux cases in which the flow rate of species undergoing
mass flow is low relative to the total flow rate of the
liquid or gas mixture so that the mass transfer between
the fluid and the surface does not affect the flow
velocity.
Therefore, the heat–mass convection analogy is not
applicable when the rate of mass transfer of a species is
high relative to the flow rate of that species.
The energy balance on a thin layer of
liquid at the surface

The mixture properties

such as the specific
heat cp and molar mass
M should normally be
evaluated at the mean
film composition and
mean film temperature.
If heat transfer from the water body to the surface as well as radiation from
the surroundings is negligible, which is often the case, then the heat loss by
evaporation must equal heat gain by convection.

Canceling hconvAs from both sides of the second equation gives

relation for the temperature of the

liquid under steady conditions
Mass Transfer coefficient for flat plates
• Several investigators have measured the evaporation from a free liquid surface-or the sublimation from a flat
solid surface-of length L into a controlled air stream under both laminar and turbulent conditions.

• where the characteristic length in Re, and Sh, is L. These equations may be used if the Schmidt number is in
the range 0.6 < Sc < 2500.
Catalytic Surface Reaction
Lecture 5
Catalytic Surface Reactions
• Such a reaction occurs at the surface of a material, can be viewed
as a surface phenomenon, and can be treated as a boundary
condition. Often a one-dimensional diffusion analysis may be
used to approximate the performance of a catalytic reactor

It is also assumed that species A leaves the surface as a result

of one-dimensional transfer through a thin film of thickness L
and that no reactions occur within the film itself. The mole
fraction of A at x = L, xA,L, corresponds to conditions in the
mainstream of the mixture and is presumed to be known.
Representing the remaining species of the mixture as a single
species B and assuming the medium to be stationary

where DAB is the binary diffusion coefficient for A in B and B

may be a multicomponent mixture.
 Catalytic Surface Reactions
where 𝑘1′′ (m/s) is the reaction rate constant. Accordingly, the surface
boundary condition, Equation above, reduces to

Assuming C and DAB to be constant, Equation

above may be solved subject to the conditions
Solving Equation above subject to the above conditions, it is
that
readily verified that the concentration distribution is linear and of
the form

For a catalytic surface, the surface reaction rate generally

depends on the surface concentration CA(0). For a first-
order reaction that results in species consumption at the
surface, the reaction rate is of the form:
At the catalytic surface this result reduces to
Catalytic Surface Reactions….
• The Molar flux is :

• The negative sign implies mass transfer to the surface

Two limiting cases

. For the limit 𝒌′′

𝟏 →𝟎 For the limit 𝒌′′
𝟏 →∞
• For the limit 𝒌′′
𝟏 → 𝟎, (L𝑘 ′′
1 /DAB)<< • (L𝑘1′′ /DAB)>>1
1 and Equations reduce to

• In such cases the rate of reaction is In this case the reaction is controlled
controlled by the reaction rate by the rate of diffusion to the
constant, and the limitation due to surface, and the process is said to be
diffusion is negligible. The process diffusion limited
is said to be reaction limited.
 Mass Diffusion with
Homogeneous Chemical
Reactions
Lecture 6
Mass Diffusion with Homogeneous Chemical
Reactions
• If we also assume steady, one-dimensional transfer in the x-direction
and that DAB and C are constant, Equation reduces to

• The volumetric production rate, 𝑁ሶ𝐴 , is often described using one of

the following forms.

Zero-Order Reaction

First-Order Reaction
Conditions must be applied to mass transfer
with Homogenous Chemical reaction…

• If 𝑁𝐴ሶ is positive, the reaction results in the generation of species A

• if 𝑁ሶ𝐴 is negative, it results in the consumption of A

First Order Chemical Reaction
• First Order Chemical Reaction

• The linear homogenous differential equation has the general solution

where m (k1/DAB) 1/2 and the constants C1 and C2 depend on the prescribed boundary conditions.
Boundary
Conditions

Quantities of special interest are

the concentration of A at the
bottom and the flux of A across
the gas-liquid interface.
Moreover,
Solved Problem
• Biofilms, which are colonies of bacteria that can cling to living or inert
surfaces, can cause a wide array of human infections. Infections caused by
bacteria living within biofilms are often chronic because antibiotics that are
applied to the surface of a biofilm have difficulty penetrating through the
film thickness. Consider a biofilm that is associated with a skin infection. An
antibiotic (species A) is applied to the top layer of a biofilm (species B) so
that a fixed concentration of medication, CA,0 =4×10-3 kmol/m3 , exists at
the upper surface of the biofilm. The diffusion coefficient of the medication
within the biofilm is DAB =2× 10-12 m2/s. The antibiotic is consumed by
biochemical reactions within the film, and the consumption rate depends
on the local concentration of medication expressed as 𝑁ሶ𝐴 =k1CA where k1
=0.1 s-1 . To eradicate the bacteria, the antibiotic must be consumed at a
rate of at least 0.2 × 10-3 kmol/s m3 (𝑁ሶ𝐴 ≤ -0.2 × 10-3 kmol/s m3 ) since, at
smaller absolute consumption rates, the bacteria will be able to grow back
faster than it is destroyed. Determine the maximum thickness of a biofilm,
L, that may be treated successfully by the antibiotic?.