CL 215: Mass

Transfer Operation-
I

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What is chemical engineering?
• Chemical engineering is the field of engineering that deals
with industrial processes in which raw materials are converted
or separated into final useful products.

Who is the chemical Engineer?

• The function of a qualified chemical engineer is to apply
chemistry of a particular industrial process through the use of
coordinated scientific and engineering principles. Also develop
the laboratory results of chemists into economical chemical
plants, he must develop, design and engineer both the complete
industrial process and the equipment used in it. Then his
duties can be stated as:
1- He must choose the raw material.
2- He must design and operate the plant efficiently, safely, and
economically.
3- He must know that his products meet the requirements set by
the customers.
4- When science does not give him a complete answer, he must use
8th Jan 24/2
experience & judgment
Mass Transfer Operations-
I

9th Jan 24/3

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Mass transfer operations
• Diffusion: molecular diffusion and eddy
diffusion
• Convective mass transfer
• Interphase mass transfer
• Absorption/stripping-gas-liquid contact
process
• Distillation-vapor-liquid system
• Extraction-liquid-liquid system
• Adsorption-solid-liquid or solid-gas system
• Drying/humidification
• Leaching-solid-liquid extraction
• Crystallization
• Membrane separation
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Concentration, Average
Velocity
Concentration

Mass density, molar concentration, mole

fraction, mole ratio etc..

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Velocity
Mass average velocity,

molar average velocity,

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 FRAME OF REFERENCE

Stationary frame of Reference:

Velocity ui of the i th species

Observer moves with mass average velocity u,

will note a velocity (ui-u) of the species i

Observer moves with molar average velocity U,

will note a velocity (ui-U) of the species i

10th Jan 24/9

 FLUX (kg/m2s or kmol/m2s)

Mass flux
Relative to a stationary observer, ni = ρiui
Relative to an observer moving with mass average
velocity, ii = ρi(ui-u)
Relative to an observer moving with molar average
velocity, ji = ρi(ui-U)
Molar flux
Relative to a stationary observer, Ni = Ciui
Relative to an observer moving with mass average
velocity, Ii = Ci(ui-u)
Relative to an observer moving with molar average
velocity, Ji = Ci(ui-U)

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 Molecular Diffusion in
binary system

Fick’s law

1
1
 Molecular diffusion and
Eddy diffusion
• Molecular diffusion by random and spontaneous
microscopic movement of individual molecules in a
gas, liquid, or solid as a result of thermal motion.
• Eddy (turbulent) diffusion by random macroscopic fluid
motion.

Molecular diffusion is extremely slow, whereas eddy diffusion,

when it occurs, is orders of magnitude more rapid.

11th Jan 24/12

 Pure water
1.5 m
0.99 gm/cc NaCl
1gm/cc NaCl soln 0.75 m

1.5 m

• To reach 87.5% of 1gm/cc concentration it needs 10 years

by pure molecular diffusion
• To reach 99% of 1 gm/cc concentration it needs 28 years
by pure diffusion
• Using a stirrer with speed 22 rpm it requires only 60 s 13
to get uniform concentration
Diffusion associated with
Convection

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Problem

Prove that for an ideal gas mixture:

DAB = DBA

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 Diffusion of A through non
diffusing B
NB=0

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 Equimolar counter
diffusion
C + O2→CO2
(Diffusion of 1 mol O2 and 1 mol CO2 in counter
direction through the air film on carbon surface)

N A= - N B

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Non-Equimolar counter
diffusion

2C + O2→ 2CO
Diffusion of 1 mol O2 and 2 mol CO in counter
direction through the air film on carbon
surface
NA= - NB /2

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Water in the bottom of a narrow metal tube is held at a constant
temperature of 293 Kelvin. The total pressure of air (assumed
dry) is 1.01325 ×105 Pascal and the temperature is 293 Kelvin.
Water evaporates and diffuses through the air in the tube and
the diffusion path is 0.1524 meter long . Calculate the flux of
evaporation at steady state in kmol/ m2 s. The diffusivity of
water vapor at 293 Kelvin and one atmospheric pressure is 2.5× 10
-5 m2/s. The vapor pressure of water at 20°C is 17.54mm Hg.

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Problem
In an oxygen-nitrogen gas mixture at 1
atm. and 25°C, the concentration of
oxygen in planes 3mm apart are 10 and 20
volume% respectively. Calculate the
diffusional flux of oxygen in kmol
oxygen/m2s for the case of equimolar
counter diffusion of the two gases. The
diffusivity for the system is 0.206
cm2/s.

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Gas phase diffusivity-equimolar
counter diffusion: Twin bulb
method

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 Pseudo-steady state in diffusion
• In the context of diffusion, substances move from an area of higher concentration to
an area of lower concentration until equilibrium is reached. In a true steady state, the
concentration profile does not change with time. However, in some cases, a system
may exhibit a pseudo-steady state, which is a transient condition that gives the
appearance of steadiness over a certain timeframe.
• This phenomenon often occurs in situations where the rate of change in concentration
is much slower than the timescale over which observations are made. In other words,
the concentration profile may seem relatively constant over a short period, leading to
the assumption of a pseudo-steady state. The term "pseudo" here means "false" or
"not genuine." So, in pseudo steady state diffusion, the concentration gradient might
be changing, but it changes slowly enough that for practical purposes, it appears as if
the system is at a steady state.
• It's important to note that the term "pseudo-steady state" is used to describe a
simplification or approximation and does not imply a true equilibrium. The system may
eventually reach a true steady state, or it may continue to evolve over time.
• Researchers and scientists use this concept to analyze and understand the behavior
of systems undergoing diffusion, recognizing that the assumption of pseudo-steady
state is a simplification that may have limitations.

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Stefan tube method (A diffusing through
non diffusing B)

z0
z’

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Predictive Equations for Gas
phase diffusivity

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Fullers, Schettler and Giddings
(1966) equation

Atomic diffusion volume

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 Molecular Diffusion in liquid
Diffusion of solutes in liquid phase is
important in many industrial processes like
liquid-liquid extraction, gas absorption,
distillation, oxygenation of rivers and lakes
by air and diffusion salts in blood.
(Here xA and yA both indicate the mole fractio

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Calculate the rate of diffusion of acetic acid (A) across a
film of non-diffusing water (B) solution 1 mm thick at 17 °C
when the concentrations on opposite sides of film are, 9 wt%
and 3 wt% respectively. The diffusivity of acetic acid in the
solution is 0.65×10-9 m2/s. MA = 60.03, MB=18.02. The density of
9% and 3% solution at 17°C are 1012 kg/m3 and 1003.2 kg/m3.

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Predictive Equation for Liquid
phase diffusivity

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Diffusion through a variable area
So far we have derived the diffusivity in
systems where it occurs through a constant
cross-sectional area. There are various
examples of molecular diffusion that are
occurring through variable cross-sectional
area also. For example: diffusion of water
vapor from a spherical drop of water,
diffusion of naphthalene from a naphthalene
ball etc.
Let us evaluate the diffusivity in various
cross-sectional area.

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Diffusion from a sphere
A naphthalene sphere with
radius r1 is in the infinite
gas medium. The component A
has the partial pressure pA1
at the diffusing surface and
partial pressure pA2 at the
stagnant medium is equal to
zero

From the above figure we can write rate of mass transfer, W = 4πr2 NA

Since this is diffusion of type ‘ A diffusing through non diffusing B’ we c

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 This equation can be integrated between r =rs (surface
of the sphere, pA = pAs) and r = ∞ where pA = pA∞

The rate of mole transfer can be found from the loss of mass of a sphere fo

From eqn (i) and (ii)

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 The change in the drop size in considerable time can be
determined by integrating the above equation considering
the pseudo-steady state.

Integrating the equation for at t=0, r =rS0 and at t= t’, rs=rs’

The time required to complete evaporation of the sphere can be determined wh

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 Diffusion from a sphere
Calculate the time required for the
sublimation of 3 gm of naphthalene from a
naphthalene ball of 4 gm kept suspended in
a large volume of stagnant air at 45°C and
1 atm pressure. Diffusivity of naphthalene
in air under the given condition is
6.92×10-6 m2/s, its density is 1140 kg/m3
and its sublimation pressure at 45°C is
0.8654 mm Hg.

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Diffusion through a
tapered tube

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The product of flux and the cross-sectional area is constant
which gives the rate of mole transfer

W1 = πr2 NA

For equimolar counter diffusion we can write

r can be substituted from the geometry as

To integrate put

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Knudsen Diffusion

Surface Diffusion

Self Diffusion: self study

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Diffusivity dependency on
temperature and pressure
• Homework
• Ref: Mass transfer operations – R. E.
Treybal

Gas phase diffusivity:

Pressure dependence of diffusivity is
given by DAB∝ 1/𝑃
Temperature dependency is according to
DAB∝ 𝑇3/2
Liquid phase diffusivity:
Temperature dependency is according to 45
Problems

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Equation of continuity

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Unsteady state diffusion

rate of generation = RA ΔxΔyΔz

0

Now, Adding the equations and divide LHS and RHS by ΔxΔyΔz

when Δx → 0

When DAB is variable 49

Equation of continuity-3
dimensional form

The more general form for three-dimensional rectangular coordinates is

This is Fick’s 2nd law of diffusion

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MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENT

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MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENT

• When a solid is dissolving in a fluid in motion,

there will always be a stagnant film over the
solid-liquid interface.
• The mass flux can not be determined by simple
diffusion equation because the film thickness and
characteristics of flow field are unknown.
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Free convection

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Mass transfer coefficient
(MTC)
Determination of rate of mass transfer is possible
to measure by knowing the flow field and mass and
momentum balance equations. e.g., solid
dissolution from a flat surface to the flowing
fluid, rate of mass transfer in a liquid falling
film. But where the flow field is complex like
dissolution of solid from in stirred tank,
absorption in packed bed, the rate determination
is difficult. The concept of mass transfer
coefficient is developed to address those
problems.

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Types of mass transfer
coefficients

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Dimensionless groups in
mass transfer

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Naphthalene ball suspended in
flowing air through a circular
tube-Experimental determination of
MTC

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 Dimensionless number in mass
transfer

For liquid phase mass transfer:

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Correlations for convective mass
transfer coefficient
The correlations have been developed by large
volume of experimental data

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 Problem
Determine the rate of water evaporated from a tray full
of water. Air at a velocity of 2 m/s is flowing over the
tray. The temperature of water and air is 25°C. The
width of the tray is 45 cm and its length along the
direction of air flow is 20 cm. The diffusivity of water
vapor in air is D = 0.26 x10-4 m2/s. The relative
humidity of air is 50%.
Given: Vapor pressure of water at saturation = 3.179 kPa
at 25°C
A 0.3175 cm sphere of glucose is placed in a water stream flowing at a
rate of 0.15 m/s. The temperature of water is 25°C. The diffusivity of
glucose in water is 0.69 × 10-5 cm2/s. Determine the mass transfer
coefficient.

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Turbulent or Eddy diffusion

Turbulent or eddy diffusivity depends on the intensity of the local turbulence.

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Mass transfer coefficient: Wetted Wall
Column
Mass transfer from flowing gas to falling liquid
film is common in gas absorption in a packed
tower. A wetted wall column is essentially a
vertical tube with means of admitting liquid at
the top and causing it to flow downwards along
the inside wall of the tube, under the influence
of gravity and the gas is to flow through the
inside of the tube, where it flows through the
tower in contact with the liquid. In absence of
ripple formation at the liquid surface, the
interfacial area, A, is known and the form drag
is absent.

The correlation for wetted wall column mass tr. coefficient

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NA = flux, moles/time relative to a fixed location in space
𝐽𝐴 = flux of a constituent relative to the average molar velocity of all constituent , kgmol/hm2
Fick’s First Law of diffusion in z direction:
𝑑𝑐𝐴
𝐽𝐴 = −𝐷𝐴𝐵
𝑑𝑧
Where DAB= volumetric diffusivity, m2/h
CA = concentration of A , kgmol/m3
Z = distance in direction of diffusion, m
Mass transfer coefficient: kc, ky, kx, kg
𝐽𝐴 𝐽𝐴 𝐽𝐴
𝑘𝑐 = and 𝑘𝑦 = or 𝑘𝑔 =
𝑐𝐴𝑖 −𝑐𝐴 𝑦𝐴𝑖 −𝑦𝐴 𝑃𝐴𝑖 −𝑃𝐴
𝐷𝑣
𝑘𝑐 =
𝐵𝑇
Unit of kc is cm/s,
𝑘𝑐 𝑃
𝑘𝑦 = 𝑘𝑐 𝜌𝑀 =
𝑅𝑇
𝑘𝑐 𝜌𝑥
𝑘𝑥 = 𝑘𝑐 𝜌𝑀 =
𝑀
𝐽𝐴
𝑘𝑔 =
𝑃𝐴𝑖 − 𝑃𝐴
𝑘𝑦 𝑘𝑐
𝑘𝑔 = =
𝑃 𝑅𝑇

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 Let , a = humidity at inlet b = humidity at outlet.
Mass transfer area, 𝐴 = 𝜋𝑑𝐿

𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑖𝑟(𝑏 − 𝑎)

𝑁𝐴 =
18 𝑥 𝐴
Determination of Average yAi
Determine Vapour pressure of water at inlet and outlet temperatures, T1 and T2., as P1 and P2

𝑃1 + 𝑃2
𝑦𝐴𝑖 =
2𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙

𝑎Τ18
𝑦𝐴 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 =
𝑎Τ18 + 1Τ29
𝑏Τ18
𝑦𝐴 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑡 =
𝑏Τ18+1Τ29
The Mass transfer flux across a boundary, NA, kg mol/m2,h, is given by
𝑘𝑦 𝑦𝐴𝑖 − 𝑦𝐴
𝑁𝐴 =
1 − 𝑦𝐴 𝐿

𝑦𝐴𝑖 − 𝑦𝐴
1 − 𝑦𝐴 𝐿 =
1 − 𝑦𝐴
𝑙𝑛 77
1 − 𝑦𝐴𝑖
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Film theory

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 Film theory Whitman, 1923
• Mass transfer occurs by pure molecular diffusion
through a stagnant fluid layer at the phase boundary
(the wall). Beyond this film, the fluid is well-mixed
having a concentration which is the same as that of the
bulk fluid i.e., CAB.
• Mass transfer through the film occurs at steady state.
• The bulk flow term (NA + NB)CA/C in Fick’s 1st law is
small. So the flux can be written as NA = -DAB(dCA/dz).
This is valid for the low flux and the mass transfer
occurs at lower concentration.

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The film theory predicts the linear relation of mass tr.
Coefficient with diffusivity but in reality, for a turbulent
fluid, kL varies as (DAB)n where n varies from 0 to 0.8.
This theory is unable to deduce mass tr. coefficient because 81
film thickness can not be determined experimentally. This
The penetration theory
(Higbie, 1935)

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 Equilibrium at the interphase
Infinite thickness of the element
Solving the equation using similarity variable, η

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Surface renewal theory, Danckwarts, 1951
Danckwarts’s assumptions includes the distribution of age

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The Boundary Layer
Theory

= 3×105

Local Sherwood no. Average Sherwood no.

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Two film theory

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Interphase mass transfer
• Drying of air by conc. sulfuric acid in sulfuric acid plant
• Extraction of aromatics by sulfolane solvent
• Aeration of pool of water in aquarium
Equilibrium between phases

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 Phase rule for gas liquid
contact

F= C-P + 2 = 3-2+2= 3
• Temp, pressure, yA and xA are the four
variable of this system. Define any three
the 4th one will be automatically fixed.
• Raoult’s law: for ideal gas-liquid mixture

• Henry’s law: for non-ideal gas-liq. mixture

at low concentration

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Concentration profile

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Determination of interfacial
concentrations

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Overall mass transfer
coefficient

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Analogy b/w Momentum, Heat and
Mass transfer

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Turbulent transport
equations

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 Reynold’s analogy
(transport in a pipe)
Assumptions:
1. the ratio of two molecular diffusivities
equals to that of two eddy diffusivities

2. The heat flux q/A varied linearly with

radius r
3. The point where the local fluid temperature
equals the average bulk temperature T is at
same radial distance from the tube wall as
the point where u=Vav

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Prandtl analogy

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Colburn analogy

• This is the analogy based on experimental data for gases and

liquids for turbulent and
laminar flow. It is also valid for flow past a flat plate.
• For flow past a flat plate or flow in a pipe where no form
drag is present, then f/2 = jH= jD

• When form drag is present as flow in packed bed, then f/2 >
jH or jD and jH and jD are close. 108
In a certain apparatus used for the absorption of sulfur
dioxide, SO2 from air by means of
water, at one point in the equipment the gas contained 10%
SO2 by volume and was in contact with liquid containing 0.4%
SO2( density 990kg/m3). The temperature was 50°C and the
total pressure 1 std atm. The overall mass transfer
coefficient based on gas phase concentration was KG=7.36×10-
10kmol/m2s Pa. Of the total diffusional resistance, 47% lay in

the gas phase, 53% in the liquid. Equilibrium data at 50°C

are 109
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Column internals:Plate tower

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Gas-LIQUID Contact
Module 3

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 The stage and the Tray
Stage: any device or combination of devices in which two
immiscible phases are brought into intimate contact in
order to achieve mass transfer of one or more components
from one phase to another is called ‘Stage’

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Gas liquid contact operation

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Material balance of counter current
gas-liquid operation-solute free basis and
mole ratio unit
Envelope 1

This is the equation of operating line

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Material balance of counter current
gas-liquid operation-total gas flow and
mole fraction unit

119
Steady state co-current
process

Equilibrium line is the

locus of M’ 120
Multi stage counter-current
process

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Algebraic equation for determination of no. of
ideal stages when operating line and
equilibrium line both are straight, in dilute
condition – Kremser equation

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Determination of ideal no. of stages in
counter current contact

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Determination of ideal no. of
stages in counter current contact

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Algebraic Determination of Number of
Ideal Stage
When the operating line and equilibrium lines are straight
Equilibrium line with slope α

Operating line

This is the first order non-homogeneous linear difference equation

Substituting the homogeneous equation

Substituting in

The complete solution will be 131

 K1 can be determined for

The complete solution:

The above equation can be rearranged to

Taking logarithm

This is other form of Kremser equation, also known as Kremser-Brown-Souders equation. Most applied for gas
absorption in plate column. This equation is not valid for Ᾱ = 1

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Kremser chart

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No. of ideal stage in cross-current
operation

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Cross-current stripping

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Problem

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 Selection of solvent and
stripping medium
Home work/self study

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Minimum Liquid Rate for
Absorption
• Material balance
• In designing an absorption column
generally these data are given
1. Gs
2. Y1
3. Y2
4. X2
we have two unknowns Ls and X1
Actual Ls will be (1.2 to 2) times of the Lsmin

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Minimum gas or steam rate for
stripping operation

• Unknowns are Gs and Y2

141
 Problem
A binary gas mixture with solute concentration of mole ratio 0.001
has to be absorbed by a fresh solvent. The final gas concentration is
limited to 0.0004 mole ratio. The gas flow rate is 6 kmol/hr in solute
free basis. Find the minimum liquid flow rate. If the operational
liquid rate is 1.5 times of the minimum, find the no. of ideal stage
for this operation. The equilibrium relation is given by

X 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.015 0.016 0.018 0.02 0.022 0.024 0.025

0.0001 0.0003 0.0005 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Y 0 73 27 0.000464 8 68 76 83 85 87 9 91 9 87 85

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GAS-LIQUID Contact
• The liquid is dispersed in the form of
droplets or discontinuous films in a
continuous gas phase (example: spray tower ,
packed tower ,venturi scrubbers, etc.)
• The gas is dispersed in liquid in form of
bubbles (e.g. tray tower, bubble column,
agitated column etc).
• Sometimes both gas and liquid phases are
continuous (for example, “a falling film
contactor” which is used for gas-liquid
reactions ).
• Tray and packed columns are most widely used
for gas – liquid contacting for gas
absorption, stripping, distillation.
• These are also used for liquid-liquid 144
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Column INTERNALS
Gas-liquid, vapor-liquid,
contact etc
Liquid-liquid

146
The TRAY Column
The Shell

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Tray: bubble cap tray (Diameter: 1-6
inches)

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The sieve tray (Diameter: 1/8
to ½ inch )
Pitch distance= 2.5dH – 5dH , normally 3.8dH
Free area= 6-10%
Free area= hole area/tower C/S

150
The valve tray
• 12 to 16 valves per ft2
• Orifice: 1.5 and 2 inch
• Disk rise 3/16 to 7/16
inch
• 10-15 % active tray area

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Downcomers and Weirs

152
Weir
 The function of a weir is to maintain a desired liquid level on
the tray.
 Typical weir height is between 2 to 4 inch. Low weirs are
frequently used in low pressure column.
 Notched weir are commonly used for low liquid loads.
 The higher the liquid level, the higher the tray pressure
drop. Higher liquid level also imply more liquid hold up on the
tray, which may be undesirable if the liquid is toxic or hazardous.
 The weir length may vary from 60 to 80% of the tower
diameter.

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 Downcomer
• Downcomer are used to
guide liquid flow from
an upper tray to a lower
tray.
• The liquid, along with
some dispersed gas or
vapour bubbles,
overflows the weir and
enters the downcomer.
• The Downcomer must
provide sufficient
residence time for gas-
liquid disengagement.
• The ‘clear liquid’
velocity in the
downcomer normally
ranges between 0.3 to 155
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MIST ELEMINATOR

157
 Problems related to tray tower:
Entrainment:
 When a gas bubbles through the liquid pool vigorously, droplets of liquid are formed in
the vapour space by quite a few mechanisms including shearing action of the gas jet of the
liquid film as a gas bubble bursts.
 Depending upon the size of a droplet, its velocity of projection and the drag force
action on it due to the gas velocity, the droplet may descend back into the liquid on the tray
or may be carried into the tray above.
 The phenomenon of carry over of the suspended droplets into the upper tray is called ‘
entrainment’.
Flooding:
 When the liquid flowrate is very high, in comparison with gas flowrate the liquid fills
the downcomer as well as an entire tray space and eventually the entire column. This
phenomenon is called ‘ flooding’.

158
Priming:
 Priming is an exaggerated
condition of liquid
entrainment. Due to high
gas flowrate, liquid from
the bottom trays are
carried away along with
the gas to the top tray.
This phenomenon is called
‘priming’.

Coning:
 Coning in a tray tower occurs due
to low liquid flowrate when compared
to gas which results in pushing of the
liquid away from the tray opening.

159
Weeping:
 If a very small fraction of the liquid flows
from a tray to lower one through perforation or
openings of the tray, the phenomenon is called ‘
weeping’.
 Weeping causes some reduction of the tray
efficiency. Weeping occurs at low gas flowrate
compared to liquid flowrate.

Dumping:
When the gas flow rate is very low, in
comparison to liquid flow rate, liquid flows from a
tray opening without entering into downcomer.
This phenomenon is called ‘ dumping’.

160
OPERATIONAL FEATURES OF A TRAY COLUMN
As vapor passes up through a column, its pressure decreases.
Vapor pressure drop in a tower is from 0.05 to 0.15 psi/tray (0.35
to 1.03 kPa/tray).
The total pressure drop (head loss), ht, for a sieve tray is due
to: (1) friction for vapor flow through dry tray perforations, hd; (2)
holdup of
equivalent clear liquid on the tray, hl (= ℎ𝑤𝑐 + ℎ𝑤 ); and (3) a
loss due to surface tension, hr
ℎ𝑡 = ℎ𝑑 + ℎ𝑤𝑐 + ℎ𝑤 +
ℎ𝑟
Where, ℎ𝑑 =dry plate pressure
drop, mm
ℎ𝑤𝑐 =height of liquid over weir
(weir crest), mm ℎ𝑤 =weir
height, mm ℎ𝑟=residual head, mm

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The Packed Tower
The Shell

170
Packings

171
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SELF STUDY

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Packed column diameter

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180
 Design of a Packed Tower

• Steps

• Items and variable to be known

181
Material balance in packed
tower

G՜ and L՜ are having unit total mol/time

area
The rate of flow of the solute (including
carrier gas) = G՜y mol/time.area
The change in the solute flow rate over the section= d(G՜y)
If NA be the local flux and ky is the individual gas-phase mass
tr. coefficient
The interfacial area of contact for mass transfer in the
differential section =(a)(1)(dh)
ҧ

Rate of mass transfer of the solute = (a)(1)(dh)(N

ҧ A)
mass balance over the section with thickness dh
= (a)(1)(dh)(N
ҧ A) = - d(G՜y) = - G՜dy - y dG՜
Since the carrier gas is insoluble, the change in the total gas
flow rate will be,
-dG՜= (a)(dh)(N
ҧ A)

182
Design method based on gas phase
Mass transfer coefficient

We can find the height of the packed bed column by following method discussed

183
a) Draw the equilibrium line using mole fraction unit, x-y plane
(b) Convert the mole ratio data on the opearting line to mole fraction data and draw the
curved operating line on x-y plane. Use the given material balance equation:

184
(B. K Dutta)
185
Design method based on Overall Mass
transfer coefficient
Putting NA in terms of overall gas –phase mass transfer coefficient

186
Design method based on Height of a
Transfer unit and Number of
transfer unit

187
HTU and NTU with various
Driving Force

188
 y1
y1*

y2

y2*
189 x2
X2* x x1*
Simplified Design Procedure for
Dilute Gases

190
191
192
HETP
Total height of Packing=HETP x no. of
Theoretical Plate

193
194
Binary distillation
Module 4

195
Distillation
Binary mixture

196
The phase rule

4 variables:

xA
yA

197
Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium
(Gillespie still)

198
199
200
Partial vaporization and
Partial condensation

201
VLE curve at constant
temperature

202
Raoult’s law and ideal
solution

Henry’s law at low concentration of low boiler

203
Modified Raoult’s Law

204
Partial Pressure of
ideal mixtures

205
Partial Pressure of non-ideal
mixtures

206
Problem

207
208
209
210
211
Variation of equilibrium curve with pressure

212
213
Minimum
boiling
Azeotrope

214
215
Maximum
boiling
Azeotrope

216
217
218
219
220
Maximum boiling
azeotrope

221
222
Azeotropic Distillation

223
224
225
226
Extractive Distillation

227
Minimum boiling azeotrope

228
229
Maximum boiling azeotrope

230
Relative volatility
(concentration ratio of A to B in vapor divided by same
ratio in the liquid )

231
232
233
234
 -W/D
y

zF, zF

zF=0.4
xW0.3
x 235
236
237
Batch distillation, Rayleigh distillation, Differen

Originally, a large amount of L1 mole is

present in the still. With composition x1,
Say at any time, there are L moles of liquid
left in the still with composition x. Let
small amount of dL is vaporized. The
composition of liquid changes from x to x-
dx and the amount of liquid from L to L-
dL. The vapor phase composition of vapor
forms is y*. The material balance gives 0

238
PROBLEM: A feed of 100 mol containing 50 mol% n-pentane and 50 mol% n-
heptane is distilled under differential conditions at 101.3 kPa until 40 mol% is
distilled. What is the average composition of the total vapor distilled and the
composition of the liquid left? The equilibrium data for n-pentane is given as

x 1.00 0.86 0.594 0.39 0.25 0.14 0.05 0

7 8 4 5 9
y 1.00 0.98 0.925 0.83 0.70 0.52 0.27 0
4 6 1 1 1

239
240
 A 100-g-mole liquid mixture containing 50 mole% n-heptane and 50 mole% n-octane at
30 oC is to be subjected to a differential distillation at atmospheric pressure.
The process is stopped when the mole fraction of MVC in the still reaches 0.33.
Determine the amount of composited distillate collected and its mole fraction, (i.e. yave)

This is the problem of determining L2 from known values (either given in the problem statement or can
be calculated from the information given) of L1 , x1 and x2 .
In this case, L1 = 100 g-moles, x1 = 0.50 (n-heptane, the MVC) and x2 = 0.33

From the Rayleigh equation:

Putting in the known parameter, we have:

241
 Plot the curve using the equilibrium data given: (see Note)

The RHS = the area under the curve 1/(y-x) bounded between x1 and x2 is 0.916. Thus, the LHS = ln
(100/L2) = 0.916.
Solving for L2:
L2 = 40.0 g-mole

242
243
Average composition in the vapour distilled:

Putting in the numbers:

244
Continuous Multi-stage Fractionation
of Binary Mixture

245
Enclosing the condenser and the reflux drum, Envelope 1

246
Enclosing a part of the rectifying section and the condenser, Envelope 2

247
Enclosing a part of the stripping section and the reboiler, Envelope 3

248
Enclosing the entire column, the condenser and reboiler, Envelope 4

249
Determination of no of ideal stages:
McCabe Thiele assumptions
Molar rate of overflow of liquid from one tray to another is constant in each section. By
virtue of that the vapor flow rate from tray to tray will also be constant for each section

250
The Rectifying section

This is the operating line

equation of rectifying or
enriching section

251
The Stripping section
For envelope 3

putting

This is the operating line

equation of stripping
section

Boil-up ratio =

252
Problem

253
254
 The Feed Line

Assuming enthalpy changes of streams across the

feed plate is negligible

255
q is the ratio of increase in liquid due to addition of feed across the feed plate to the
total feed. So, q can be termed as the feed quality or the fraction of liquid in the feed

If the point of intersection of operating lines of stripping and enriching section is say (x, y)

On adding

256
This is the operating line of feed line
 From total material balance

and divide both sides by F

Recalling the feed operating line

Divide both sides by F

257
Feed conditions

258
The bubble point of the feed 366.7 K

259
260
Tray Efficiency
Overall tray efficiency

Murphree Tray efficiency

261
Total Reflux

262
Fenke’s equation for minimum no of trays at
total reflux
Because (Related by operating
line which lie on
diagonal line)

Because

263
Minimum Reflux Ratio

264
Two exceptional cases for Rmin

265
266
Column with multiple feed and side str

267
Distillation column with multiple feed and side wi

268
Determine

269
270
Multistage batch distillation with reflux

271
Constant reflux
If Wi and Wf are the initial and final amount of liquid present in t

In batch distillation no continuous feed is given but liquid is continuous

So composition of Wi and Wf both will be decreasing i. e., xD and xW

272
273
274
275
276
 Steam Distillation
• Applicable for separation of
component A (low volatile,
immiscible with water) from
mixture of A and B, where B is
slightly volatile non-volatile
• When two liquids are immiscible
the total pressure is the sum of
vapour pressure of
individual vapor pressure of each
liquid.
• The bubble point of the mixture
will be lower than the boiling
point of both the liquids.

277
278
Enthalpy concentration diagram

279
280
281
Ponchon
-
Savarit
method
283
The Enriching Section

284
 285
27/3/23
Operating line of enriching section

Putting n=0

286
287
Put n=0

288
The Stripping Section

Where,
289
…The Stripping Section

290
291
292
293
294
Minimum
Reflux
Ratio

295
296
297
298
299
300
301
Put n=0

302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
 Multicomponent distillation

Module 5

311
Introduction

312
313
314
315
316
317
318