Example.

Average Molecular Weight of Air

Calculate the average molecular weight of air, assuming that air is 21% O2 and 79% N2.

Total 29.0 g air

Therefore, the total mass of 1 g mol of air is equal to 29.0 g, which is called the average
molecular weight of air. (Because we chose 1 g mol of air as the basis, the total mass
calculated directly provides the average molecular weight of 29.0.)

Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami

Concentration
The Mass concentration of a component of a mixture or solution is the mass of this
component per unit volume of the mixture (g/cm3, lbm/ft3, kg/in.3, …)
The Molar concentration of a component is the number of moles of the component per unit
volume of the mixture (kmol/m3, lb-moles/ft3, ).
The Molarity of a solution is the value of the molar concentration of the solute expressed in
gram-moles solute/liter solution (e.g., a 2-molar solution of A contains 2 mol A/liter solution).

Example: a 0.02 molar solution of NaOH (i.e., a solution containing 0.02 mol NaOH/L):
5 L of this solution contains

and if a stream of this solution flows at a rate of 2 L/min, the molar flow rate of NaOH is

Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami

EXAMPLE Conversion Between Mass, Molar, and Volumetric Flow Rates of a Solution
A 0.50-molar aqueous solution of sulfuric acid flows into a process unit at a rate of 1.25
m3/min. The specific gravity of the solution is 1.03. Calculate (1) the mass concentration of
H2SO4 in kg/m3, (2) the mass flow rate of H2SO4 in kg/s, and (3) the mass fraction of H2SO4.

(1)

(2)

(3)
Parts per Million (ppm) and Parts per Billion (ppb)
ppm and ppb are used to express the concentrations of trace species in mixtures of gases
or liquids.
The definitions may refer to mass ratios (usual for liquids) or mole ratios (usual for gases)
and signify how many parts (grams, moles) of the species are present per million or billion
parts (grams, moles) of the mixture.

For example, suppose air in the vicinity of a power plant is said to contain 15 ppm SO2
(15 parts per million sulfur dioxide)
Assuming that a molar basis has been used, this statement means that every million
moles of air contains 15 moles of SO2, or equivalently, that the mole fraction of SO2 in the
air is 15× 10-6.
Units such as ppm and ppb have become increasingly common in recent years as public
concentrations about potentially hazardous trace species in the environment has grown.

Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami

Example. Use of ppm
The current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 8-hour limit for Hydrogen
cyanide (HCN) (boils at 25.6 °C) (MW = 27.03) in air is 10.0 ppm. A lethal dose of HCN in air
is (from the Merck Index) 300 mg/kg of air at room temperature. How many mg HCN/kg air is
10 ppm? What fraction of the lethal dose is 10.0ppm?
Solution
In this problem you have to convert ppm in a gas (a mole ratio, remember!) to a mass ratio.
Basis: 1 kg of the air-HCN mixture
We can treat the 10.0 ppm as 10.0 g mol HCN/106 g mol air because the amount of HCN is
so small when added to the air in the denominator of the ratio. The 10.0 ppm is

Next, get the MW of HCN so that it can be used to convert moles of HCN to mass of HCN;
the MW = 27.03. Then
 Pressure important parameter that has combined units is pressure, which is force exerted
per area.
A pressure is the ratio of a force to the area on which the force acts.
pressure are commonly used different units systems. Accordingly, pressure units are force
units divided by area units (e.g., N/m2, dynes/cm2, and lb/in2. or psi). The SI pressure unit,
N/m2, is called a Pascal (Pa).

Converting between these units requires using the conversion factors presented in the
discussion of force.

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Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami
 Fluid Pressure and Hydrostatic Head

P0 is the pressure exerted on the

top of the column
g is the acceleration of gravity

Hydrostatic pressure P is the pressure

caused by the mass of a fluid, as shown

The equivalence between a pressure P

(force/area) and the corresponding
head Ph (height of a fluid) is given by
Equation with P0 = 0

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Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami
 Types of Pressures
1. Atmospheric pressure, Patm, is the pressure caused by
the weight of the earth’s atmosphere. Often
atmospheric pressure is called Barometric pressure.
2. Absolute pressure, Pabs, is the total pressure. An
absolute pressure of 0.0 is a Perfect Vacuum.
Absolute pressure must be used in all calculations,
unless a pressure difference is used.
3. Gauge pressure, Pgauge, is pressure
relative to atmospheric pressure.
4. Vacuum pressure, Pvac, is a
gauge pressure that is below
atmospheric pressure.
Standard atmosphere is defined as the
pressure equivalent to 760 mmHg or
1 atm at sea level and at 0°C.
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Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami
 1. Bourdon gauge
Pressure-Sensing Devices
2. Manometer

Differential Manometer Equation:

If both fluids are gases, then the

equation becomes

Open-end Sealed-end Differential

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Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami
 The relationship between gauge and absolute pressure is given by the following expression:

EXAMPLE 22 Pressure Conversion

The Pressure gauge on a tank of CO2 used to fill soda-
water bottles reads 51.0 psi. At the same time the
barometer reads 28.0 in. Hg.
What is the absolute pressure in the tank in psia?

Atmosphere pressure=

The absolute pressure in the tank is 51.0 + 13.76 = 64.8 psia.

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Dr.Firas Salim Mohammed Al-Ghulami