Mass Transfer

S5CHI01

Dr. Poornima G. Hiremath

Email: pgh@sit.ac.in

Contact Hours / Week 3+0+2 (L+T+P) Credits 4

Total Lecture Hours 40 CIE Marks 50
Total Practical Hours 26 SEE Marks 50
 Course objectives
• Develop familiarity with the basic principles of diffusion, mass transfer
coefficients and interphase mass transfer to enable selection of
appropriate recovery process.
• Introduce the fundamentals of molecular diffusion and convective
diffusion in the context of distillation, drying and humidification
processes.
• Train students to apply mass transfer principles, material and energy
balance to solve problems related to distillation, drying and
humidification processes.
• Facilitate the students to carry out selection of appropriate recovery
process and perform basic design of the mass transfer equipment
involved.
• Describe sustainable operations including distillation, drying and
humidification in the context of environment and economics.
 Course outcomes

CO1 Apply the fundamentals of mass transfer to solve for diffusion

coefficient and mass transfer rates and analyze the solutions
CO2 Apply the concepts of interfacial mass transfer to calculate
mass transfer coefficient and mass transfer rates and analyze
the solutions
CO3 Solve problems in distillation and perform basic design of
distillation columns by applying the concepts of
thermodynamic equilibrium and operating lines, analyze and
communicate the solutions
CO4 Solve problems in drying and perform basic design of dryers by
applying the concepts of thermodynamic equilibrium and
drying curve, analyze and communicate the solutions
CO5 Develop humidification and dehumidification systems by
applying the fundamentals of humidity, enthalpy and adiabatic
saturation curves, analyze and communicate the solutions
Course Outline

Unit I: Introduction to mass transfer operations

Unit II: Mass transfer coefficients and Interphase

mass transfer

Unit III: Distillation

Unit IV: Drying

Unit V: Humidification
TEXT BOOKS
1.R. E. Treybal, Mass Transfer Operations, 3rd Ed., McGraw -Hill International
Edition, 1981.
2.Narayanan & Lakshmikutty, “Mass Transfer – Theory and Applications”, 1e,
CBS Publishers, New Delhi, 2005, ISBN: 978-8123924212
3.B.K. Dutta, Principles of Mass Transfer and Separation Processes, 1st Ed.,
Prentice Hall of India, 2007.
REFERENCE BOOKS
1.W. L. McCabe, J. Smith and P. Harriot, Unit Operations of Chemical
Engineering, 6th Ed., McGraw - Hill International Edition, 2001
2.P. C. Wankat, Equilibrium-Staged Separations, Prentice Hall, 1989
3.C. J. Geankoplis, Transport Processes and Unit Operations, 3rd Ed., Prentice
Hall, India, 1993.
 UNIT I
Introduction to Mass Transfer Operations: Classification of
mass transfer operations, Diffusion: Molecular and Eddy
diffusion, Diffusivity, Steady state molecular diffusion in
fluids - molecular diffusion in gases and liquids, pseudo
steady state diffusion, Diffusion in solids.
7 Hours
UNIT II
Mass transfer coefficients and Interphase mass transfer:
Mass transfer coefficients, mass transfer theories: Film
theory, Penetration theory, Surface renewal theory.
Interphase mass transfer: Equilibrium, two-phase mass
transfer, overall mass transfer coefficient. Types of
operations: co-current process, counter-current process.
8 Hours
UNIT III
Distillation: Vapor liquid equilibria, relative volatility,
computation of vapor liquid equilibria, types of distillation
columns – batch column, continuous column, steam
distillation, equilibrium distillation, simple distillation,
Continuous rectification: McCabe Thiele Method: location
of feed tray, reflux ratio. Introduction to Extractive
distillation and Azeotropic distillation.
8 Hours
 UNIT IV
Drying: Moisture content - wet and dry basis,
equilibrium moisture, bound moisture, unbound
moisture, free moisture, critical moisture content,
constant rate drying period, falling rate drying period,
classification of drying operations: batch and
continuous drying. Parameters affecting drying rate
during constant rate drying period. Dryers: rotary
dryer, drum dryer, spray dryer, freeze dryer.
8 Hours
UNIT V
Humidification: Molal absolute humidity, saturated
absolute humidity, dry bulb temperature, relative
humidity, percentage saturation, dew point, humid
heat, enthalpy, humid volume, adiabatic saturation
curves, wet bulb temperature, design of cooling tower,
re-circulation humidifier, Equipment: packed cooling
towers, spray chambers, spray ponds.
8 Hours
UNIT I: Introduction to Mass Transfer Operations

Introduction to mass transfer and classification

Methods of mass transfer operations

Diffusional mass transfer – Fick’s law

Molecular diffusion in gases, liquids and solids

Diffusivity and its prediction

Objectives of Chemical Engineering

http://chemicalengineering.byu.edu/

Chemical engineering is the process of using CHEMISTRY, OTHER SCIENCES

and MATH to IMPROVE the quality of life by inventing, optimizing, and economizing
NEW TECHNOLOGIES and PRODUCTS.
PRODUCTS: Petroleum, petrochemicals, inorganic & organic chemicals,
fertilizers, pesticides, food, pharmaceuticals, paint & pigments, pulp & paper,
rubber, plastic, soaps & detergents, fibers, minerals, metals, semiconductors,
health supplements, artificial tissue, organs and cells for therapy, etc.
Importance of Separation Processes

RAW MATERIALS

Transformation (chemical or physical)

PRODUCTS

Transformation
Several processing steps: physical separation & chemical conversions

Pre-processing of raw materials

Concentration of the products

Recovery of valuable side-products

Removal of unconverted reactants & impurities from final products

Cost of separation is a major part of the total cost of a process

Types of Separation Processes
Mechanical separation

Diffusional separation or mass transfer operation

Types of Separation Processes
Mechanical separation: Based on physical separation at a
macroscopic level

Difference in size, density, velocity, magnetic property, etc.

Examples??

Filtration
Centrifugation
http://www.eschooltoday.com/
https://adarshsomani02.files.wordpress.com

Cyclone Separation
www.nasirint.com/
Generally used to separate solid phase from a
liquid phase or gas phase.
Types of Separation Processes
Diffusional separation or mass transfer operations: Based on
separation at a molecular level

Generally separation of components of a homogenous solution

Separation is based on differences in concentration, solubility,

volatility, diffusivity, electrical charge, weak interactions

Example 1: Water diffusion into a dry grape

Example 2: Diffusion of water from a pool into the air

Example 3: Separation of metabolites by the Kidney

Example 4: Diffusion of tea extract from tea leaves into water

Example 5: Separation of crude oil into fractions

Diffusional Mass Transfer
Diffusional Mass Transfer
Definition: The transfer of one substance through another on a
molecular scale from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower
concentration is termed as diffusional mass transfer.

Mixing of substances to form a solution is highly irreversible…hence

separating this mixture into its components is not spontaneous.

To achieve mass transfer, we need a second phase.

Second phase is generated:

Using energy….heating or condensing
Using external agent….solvent or adsorbent

Mass transfer involves diffusion within a homogeneous phase followed

by interphase transport.

Major mass transfer processes: Distillation, extraction, absorption,

adsorption, drying, leaching, crystallization, humidification, etc

www.ichemeblog.org
Diffusional Mass Transfer
Mass transfer in biological systems:
Respiration or oxygenation of blood
Filtration by kidneys
Food and drug absorption

Mass transfer in environmental systems:

Dissolution of oxygen in water
Diffusion of water into the atmosphere

Mass transfer in engineering systems:

Separation of ores and radioisotopes
Convective Mass Transfer
Diffusional mass transfer occurs in the absence of macroscopic motion of
the medium through which the transfer takes place…hence a slow
process.

Example: Drying of cloth inside the house

Diffusional mass transfer takes place in quiescent fluids (in laminar flow) or
though pores in solids.

If you increase the bulk motion of the medium through which mass transfer
occurs, using energy, it is called convective mass transfer

Example 1: Drying of cloth under windy conditions under the sun

Example 2: Mixing sugar solution in water to dissolve sugar
Example 3: Boiling rice to cook

Industrial processes utilize convective mass transfer to enhance the rate

and quantity of mass transfer
Classification of Mass Transfer Operations
Industrial mass transfer operations involve transfer of one or more
components from one phase to another.

Mass transfer is achieved by bringing the two phases together.

Hence MT operations are classified on the basis of how the phases are
brought together

Direct contact of two immiscible or partially miscible phases

Direct contact of miscible phases

Phases separated by membrane

Separation by the use of surface phenomena

Direct Contact of Two Immiscible Phases
Involves bringing two phases which are immiscible or partially miscible
into contact that are not in equilibrium.

Most used MT operation in the industry.

Mass gets transferred from one phase to the other until the system
reaches equilibrium

Separation is achieved by making use of the unequal distribution of

components in the two phases.

Classified on the basis of phases involved and the direction of mass

transfer:
Gas-liquid
Gas-solid
Liquid-solid
Liquid-liquid
Gas-liquid-solid
Gas/vapor-Liquid Contact
Absorption and Stripping

Distillation

Humidification or dehumidification
Gas/vapor-Liquid Contact
Absorption and Stripping: Uses difference in solubility
of components in the medium.

The separation of gaseous components of a gas

mixture using a liquid solvent is called absorption
Mass transfer is from gas to liquid phase.
Removal of NH3 from NH3-air mixture using water
Removal of CO2 from CO2-NH3 mixture using
ethanolamine solution.
Separation of H2S from flue gas using water.

The separation of liquid components of a liquid solution

using a gas is called stripping https://upload.wikimedia.org

Mass transfer is from liquid to gas phase.

Removal of NH3 from NH3-water solution using hot
gas or superheated steam.
Separation of paraffinic hydrocarbon from a non-
volatile organic compound using steam.
Gas/vapor-Liquid Contact
Distillation
Uses difference in volatility of components
in the mixture.
Most commonly used method for
separating a liquid mixture.
The separation of components of a liquid
mixture using heat….transfer is from gas to
liquid phase and from liquid to gas phase.
Addition of heat to create gas phase from
the liquid and removal of heat from gas to
create the liquid phase.
The more volatile component vaporizes
faster & recovered by condensing.
The less volatile component is recovered
at the bottom as liquid.

Fractionation of petroleum crude to get fractions (petrol, diesel, tar, etc)

Separation of acetic acid-water solution by boiling
Separation of benzene, toluene and xylene
http://static1.squarespace.com/
Gas/vapor-Liquid Contact
Humidification
Here the liquid is pure water (contains only one component) while the gas
phase has two or more components.

In humidification, water is vaporized and passed into the gas phase.

Diffusion of water vapor through air is involved.

In dehumidification, water vapors are condensed from water vapor-air

mixture to form water.
Gas-Solid Contact
Fractional sublimation
Diffusion of pure solid upon vaporization into the gas phase without the
appearance of the liquid phase.
Burning of camphor
Lyophilization of frozen samples (to remove moisture and other volatile
compounds)

http://web-japan.org/
Gas-Solid Contact
Adsorption
Diffusion of a gas from a mixture
when exposed to a relatively dry solid.
Diffusion is from the gas to the solid
phase
Removal of moisture from air
using silica gel particles

If the gas mixture contains several

http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/
components, then each of these
components is adsorbed on the solid
but to different extents…..fractional Drying
adsorption. Diffusion of a volatile liquid
Separation of propane and contained in a solid exposed to a
propylene using activated carbon relatively dry gas.
Separation of O2, H2 and CO2 Laundry
using zeolite adsorbent Removal of moisture from
wet filter cakes.
Liquid-Liquid Contact
Extraction
Separation of a solute from a liquid mixture by adding an immiscible liquid
phase called a solvent.
Diffusion is based on the difference in solubility in the two phases.
Removal of acetone from acetone-water solution using carbon
tetrachloride
Extraction of penicillin from fermentation broth using amylacetate.

http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/

If the components of a liquid mixture distribute themselves in the two

phases differently, it is called fractional extraction.
Separation of acetone-acetic acid solution by adding an immiscible
mixture of water and carbon tetrachloride
Liquid-Solid Contact
Leaching
Separation of a solid from a solid mixture using a liquid solvent.
Diffusion happens after the solid is dissolved and is based on the difference
in solubility in the solvent.
Coffee making
Leaching of gold from its ores using cyanide solution
Supercritical fluid extraction of soluble proteins

Coffee Making

Super-critical CO2

https://medmen.com/blog

http://images.viralnova.com/
Liquid-Solid Contact
Adsorption
Transfer of a liquid solute from a liquid mixture onto a solid surface.
Based on the difference in surface interaction b/w the solid and the liquid
components.
Removal of color from cane sugar solution using activated carbon

Crystallization
Transfer of a liquid to solid with one of the components at equilibrium in
both the phases.
Based on creating supersaturation of a liquid
Purification of sugar from cane sugar solution
Purification of penicillin from fermentation broth

http://www.columbia.edu/
Gas-Liquid-Solid Contact
Transfer of a gaseous solute from gas phase to liquid phase and finally to
a solid phase.
Based on the concentration difference.
Aerobic fermentationOxygen transfer from air bubble to a
microorganism through the liquid nutrition medium (broth)
Aerobic digestion of biological waste

http://www.umich.edu/
Phases Separated by a Membrane
Membrane: A thin film that permits the preferential transport of molecules
from one phase to the other, but prevents ordinary hydrodynamic flow of the
phases.
Porous membrane Non-porous membrane

http://water.sun.ac.za/ http://
www.cherd.ichemejournals.com/
Separation is based on the difference in size, charge, solubility,
concentration, etc.

The flow through membranes is primarily diffusion, since the two phases
don’t mix with each other.

Operates with reduced energy consumption & less harsh conditions.

Phases Separated by a Membrane
Recently, membranes with high selectivity
and permeability have been developed
along with composite membranes.

Membrane modules possessing large

membrane surface into small volume have
been developed for high throughput
processing. http://web.ornl.gov/

Organic & inorganic membranes

Used in separating heat-sensitive

materials at moderate
temperatures.

Compact, less capital investment,

less energy intensive.

Purely physical and requires no

external agents.
Phases Separated by a Membrane
Gas-gas contact:
Gaseous diffusion is achieved
using a microporous membrane.

A gaseous mixture having

components of different molecular
weights are brought in contact with
the membrane.

The gases permeate through the

membrane at rates depending on
their respective MW.

This leads to separation of the

mixture.

Separation of uranium isotopes

(gaseous uranium hexafluoride) is
done.
Phases Separated by a Membrane
Permeation
Achieved using a non-porous membrane.

A gaseous mixture or liquid mixture passes through the membrane by first

dissolving and then diffusing.

Separation of components is achieved on the basis of the extent of

solubility of the components in the membrane.

Separation of helium from natural gas by selective permeation through

fluorocarbon polymer membranes.
Phases Separated by a Membrane
Dialysis
Separation of a crystalline substance from a
colloid by bringing their mixture in contact with a
solvent through an intervening membrane.

The membrane is permeable to the crystalline

solute and the solvent and not to the colloid.

Beet-sugar solutions containing undesired

colloidal material are separated by contact with
water through a semipermeable membrane.

Artificial kidney cleans the blood via dialysis.

http://www.scimath.org/
If an electromotive force is used to drive the
separation through the membrane, it is termed
as electrodialysis.
Phases Separated by a Membrane
Reverse Osmosis
The solute and solvent of a solution can be separated by superimposing a
pressure to oppose the osmotic pressure of the solvent and to reverse its
flow.

Desalination of sea water using semipermeable membranes.

http://www.hitachi.com/
Direct Contact of Two Phases
Thermal diffusion
Involves the creation of concentration gradient within a single liquid or gas
phase by imposing temperature gradient upon the fluid.

The components separate on the basis of their size (MW) and diffusivity
through the carrier fluid.

Separation of 3He from its mixture with 4He.

Direct Contact of Two Phases
Sweep diffusion
If a condensable vapor, such as steam, is allowed to diffuse through a gas
mixture, it will preferentially carry one of the components along with it.

Gas centrifugation
If a gas is centrifuged at high speed, the components will be separated
because of the slight difference in forces acting on the various molecules
because of the difference in masses.

Heavier molecules tend to accumulate near the periphery of the centrifuge.

Example: Separation of uranium isotopes

Use of Surface Phenomena
Foam separation
A method where foam is used to separate components of a liquid mixture
using a gas.

In solution, surface active components tend to adsorb to gas-liquid

interfaces while surface inactive components stay within the bulk solution.

When a solution is foamed, the most surface active components collect in

the foam and the foam can be easily extracted.

Large-scale waste water treatment

https://en.wikipedia.org
Direct and Indirect Mass Transfer Operations
Direct Operations Indirect Operations

Produce two phases from a single-phase Addition of external agent or substance

solution by the addition or removal of to effect separation.
heat.
Distillation, fractional crystallization. Gas absorption, stripping, adsorption,
drying, leaching, liquid extraction.

Products are free of any added Products are always contaminated with
substance, hence purification is easy. the external agent used and hence
needs purification or concentration of the
product.
No additional process or cost for Additional process and cost needed for
recovering the external agent. recovering the external agent .

Used when the products are required in Can be used to separate products which
high purity and uncontaminated. may not be pure.

Used when the products are of high

value.
Summary of Classification of Mass Transfer Operations
Choice of Separation Method
Choosing separation methods depends on the materials being handled and
importantly the cost.

Mass transfer vs. Mechanical separation methods:

Separation of mineral ores can be achieved either by leaching or by simple
mechanical means of flotation.
Separation of vegetable oil from seeds can be obtained either by leaching
using a solvent or by mechanical compression.
Gas absorption or adsorption used for separating a gas from a gas mixture
vs. mechanical compression.

Mass transfer vs. Chemical reaction methods:

Water can be removed from water-ethanol mixture by reacting it with
unslaked lime (calcium oxide) or by distillation.

H2S can be separated from other gases either by absorption in a liquid

solvent or by reacting it with ferric oxide.

Limitation of reaction method is that the substance to be separated will be

destroyed, while mass transfer operations give unaltered substances.
Choice of Separation Method
Mass transfer 1 vs. Mass transfer 2:
Occasionally, choice needs to be made between two MT operations.

Preferential separation of oxygen is done by adsorption on to activated

carbon (or) by absorption (or) by distillation (or) liquid extraction.

Cost of Separation:
Separation costs are a major part of the total production cost of any
product (50 to 90 %).

In most cases, the process which costs the least amount is chosen.

Ease of operation: Sometimes, despite not being economical, simple

operations are chosen.

Complexity of design: When a separation process is not well

understood in terms of its design, the results are not guaranteed….hence
such processes are generally not chosen, despite being economical.
Thank you