12/3/2017

KETEKNIKAN PENGOLAHAN 2

Fundamentals of
Mass Transfer

Ahmad Zaki Mubarok

Department of Agricultural Product Technology
Brawijaya University

DIFFUSION
Is the process by which molecules, ions, or other small particles
spontaneously mix, moving from regions or relatively high
concentration into regions of lower concentration.

This process can be analyzed in two ways.

1) First, it can be described with Fick’s law and a diffusion
coefficient.
2) Second, it can be explained in terms of mass transfer
coefficient.

1
 12/3/2017

Diffusion

Whenever there is concentration difference of

a physical quantity in a medium, nature tends
to equalize things by forcing a flow from the
high to the low concentration region.

Before After

2
 12/3/2017

1. Fick’s law and a diffusion coefficient

Diffusion is time-dependent, the amount of matter transferred depend on time and is characterized by the
diffusion flux J.

Eventually, steady-state conditions may be reached, and the diffusion flux no longer changes with time.
For example:
Steady state diffusion of a gas through a plate of
metal, where the gas pressure on either side of the
plate is kept constant.

For steady-state diffusion, we have Fick’s first law,

The negative sign ensures that the flux goes from

the high to the low concentration regions. This
concentration gradient can be the driving force Figure 6.4
for a reaction.

Example problem

A sheet of BCC Fe 1.0 mm thick is exposed to a carburizing gas on

one side and a decarburizing gas on the other at 725oC. After
reaching steady state, the Fe membrane is quenched to room
temperature, and the C concentration at each side of the
membrane are 0.270 kg m-3 and 1.688 kg m-3. Calculate the
diffusion coefficient if the diffusion flux is 1.4 × 10-8 kg m-2 s-1.

3
 12/3/2017

Solution:

Question….?

4
 12/3/2017

Molecular Diffusion in Gases

z = distance (m)

Example
A mixture of He and N2 gas is contained in a pipe at 298
K and 1 atm total pressure which is constant throughout.
At one end of the pipe at point 1 the partial pressure pA1
of He is 0.6 atm and at the other end 0.2 m pA2 = 0.2 atm.
Calculate the flux of He at steady state if DAB of the He-N2
mixture is 0.687 x 10-4 m2/s.

Answer:
JA = 5.63 × 10-3 mol m-2 s-1

5
 12/3/2017

2. Mass transfer coefficient

Analyzing diffusion with mass transfer coefficients requires assuming that changes in
concentration are limited to that small part of the system’s volume near its boundaries. For
example, in the absorption of one gas into a liquid, we assume that all gases and liquids are
well mixed, except near the gas-liquid interface.

Imagine we are interested in the transfer of mass from some interface into a well-mixed
solution. We expect that the amount transferred is proportional to the concentration difference
and the interfacial area:

=

Where the proportionality is summarized by k, called a mass transfer coefficient. If we divide
both sides of this equation by the area, we can write the equation in more familiar symbols:

=
Where:
N1 = the flux at the interface
c1i = concentration at the interface
c1 = concentration in the bulk solution.
The concentration c1i is at the interface but in the same fluid as the bulk concentration c1.

Example : Humidification

Imagine that water is evaporating into initially dry air in the closed vessel. The vessel
is isothermal at 25oC, so the water’s vapor pressure is 23.8 mm Hg. This vessel has 0.8
liter of water with 150 cm2 of surface area in a total volume of 19.2 liters. After 3
minutes, the air is five percent saturated.What is the mass transfer coefficient?

Solution:


=

.
. .
.
=

= . ×
.

6
 12/3/2017

The concentration difference is that at the water’s surface minus that in

the bulk solution.
That at the water’s surface is the value at saturation, that in bulk at short
times is essentially zero.
Thus:
.
. × =
. . ×

= . × ⁄

Question….?