CHE 304:

Transport Phenomena III: Mass Transfer

Chapter 28: Convective Mass Transfer

Shaikh Abdur Razzak, PhD, PEng

Department of Chemical Engineering
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
 Convective Mass Transfer

Convective Mass transfer involves the transport of material between a

boundary surface and a moving fluid or two immiscible moving fluids
separated by a mobile interface

In this chapter we will discuss the mass transfer in a single phase

where the mass is exchanged between a boundary surface and a
moving fluid

And the flux related to the individual mass-transfer convective

coefficient

In chapter 29 we will consider the mass transfer between two

contacting phases where the flux is related to an overall mass-transfer
co-efficient
28.1 Fundamentals of Convective Mass Transfer

The rate equitation for convective mass transfer, generalized in a

manner analogous to Newton’s law of cooling:

Mass transfer rate, WA = kc A (CA1-CA2)

Heat transfer rate (Newton’s law): q = h A (T1-TA2)

kc is the mass transfer coefficient (m/s)

Or,

Mass flux, NA = kc (CA1-CA2)

Heat flux (Newton’s law): q/A = h (T1-TA2)

When the mass transfer involves a solute dissolving into a moving fluid, the
convective mass-transfer coefficient is defined by
Example 1
There are four methods of evaluating convective mass-transfer coefficients

Dimensional analysis coupled with experiment;

Exact laminar boundary-layer analysis;

Approximate boundary-layer analysis;

Analogy between momentum, energy, and mass transfer.

 28.2 SIGNIFICANT PARAMETERS IN CONVECTIVE MASS TRANSFER

Dimensionless parameters are often used to correlate convective transport data.

Reynolds number
In Momentum Transfer:
Euler number

Prandtl number
In Convective Heat Transfer:
Nusselt number

Similarly,
Schmidt number
In Convective Mass Transfer:
Lewis number
The molecular diffusivities of the three transport phenomena have been defined as

Schmidt number

Lewis number
Consider the mass transfer of solute A from a solid to a fluid flowing past the
surface of the solid. The concentration profile is depicted in Figure

Since the mass transfer at the surface is by molecular diffusion, the mass
transfer may also be described by

When the boundary concentration, CA,s, is constant, this equation simplifies to

Multiplying both sides of equation) by a significant length, L, we obtain the
following dimensionless expression:

This ratio is referred to as the Sherwood number, Sh.

These three parameters—Sc, Sh, and Le—will be encountered in the

analyses of convective mass transfer.
Example 2

Methanol in Air

Methanol in Water
28.4 EXACT ANALYSIS OF THE LAMINAR CONCENTRATION BOUNDARY LAYER
The mass flux of the diffusing component was defined in terms of the mass-transfer
coefficient by
Example 3