Title

Liquid diffusion

LABORATORY REPORT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN TECHNOLOGY

IN

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

In the

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Of the

UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

By

Sethwape K 221060146

Group 23

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 Synopsis

The liquid diffusion experiment aimed to determine the sodium chloride solution's diffusivity
in distilled water. The conductivity of the solution after sodium chloride solution (NaCl) was
diffused into the distilled water was also tested in this experiment. To determine the rate of
diffusion, the conductivity versus time graph was created. The conductivity value when the
NaCl solution spread into distilled water was measured using a liquid diffusion coefficient
instrument. Conductivity 1M of sodium chloride increased with time, it started at 0.326and
at 20 minutes it was 0.394. The conductivity of 2M of sodium chloride also increased with
time, it started at 0.406, and end of 20 minutes it was 0.594. The conductivity of 4 M was
also conducted and also increased with time. In conclusion, conductivity increased when the
concentration of each solution increased from 1M to 2M and 4M. The increasing conductivity
with time supports the hypothesis of this experiment which state that the longer the time, the
higher the value of conductivity. The outcome of the calculation of the rate of diffusivity
demonstrated that the rate of diffusion increases with concentration. Thus, when the solution
concentration increased, so did the diffusivity of the solution.

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Declaration

I Sethwape K declare that information that used in this document was written by me , I did
not copy someone work, and where I used someone information I have paraphrase and
reference ideas used.

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Acknowledgment
Source used during the writing of lab report
1.Google schoolar.
2

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Table of content

1.Introduction …………………………………………5
1.1Background………………………………………..
1.2 Theory and previous research……………………

2. Experimental procedure…………………………….6-7
2.1 Procedure………………………………………….
2.2 experimental datasheet……………………………

3. Results………………………………………………8-10
3.1 graphs or figures…………………………………
3.2 calculations………………………………………..

4. Discussions…………………………………………11
5. Conclusions………………………………….12
6. Recommendations
7. References
8. appendices

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1. Introduction
1.1 Background
The reason for contacting this experiment was to determine the liquid diffusion coefficient.
Process engineers often deal with the distribution bulk of materials, where materials are
changed to other forms. For this reason, a theory of the physical and chemical properties of
materials during their transformation is needed. The information can be used to predict the
cost, setting up equipment, and the environmental impact of that certain process. One of the
physical properties is called diffusivity which can be defined as the rate at which a material
disperses through another material. Diffusivity happens when the concentration slope
between the two more components.
1.2 Theory and the previous research
In 1855, Adolf Fick described diffusivity using Fick’s law. Diffusivity happens in two phases
which are gas and liquid, it can be calculated by using Fick’s law which is as follow.
In this equation
J = -D dφ/dx

Where J is diffusion flux which is the amount of substance per unit area unit time.
D is the diffusion coefficient or diffusivity.
dφ/dx is the concentration gradient in the x direction.
the negative shows the direction of the concentration.
As stated before that diffusivity take place in liquid and gas, but our focus in this experiment
will be on diffusivity in a liquid phase.

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2. Experimental Procedure
The diffusion vessel was removed from magnetic stir and the diffusion cell was removed
from the diffusion vessel where the diffusion vessel was filled with 1L of distilled water up to
the green mark on the diffusion vessel. Next diffusion cell was taken back to the magnetic stir
which connected to the electric supply and the conductivity meter which was switched on.
The following step time set, and after it passed the conductivity of distilled water was taken
from the conductivity meter. The conductivity of distilled water was recorded, and the
diffusion cell was filled with 1 M of Sodium Chloride. The diffusion cell was filled up until
some of the solution dropped from the capillary and was taken back to the diffusion cell. One
minute passed which was to allow the diffusing to take place before starting 20 minutes
which was set on the clock and four different readings were taken after each 5 minutes
interval. After the 20 minutes were over, the magnetic stir was switched off and the diffusion
cell and diffusion vessel were emptied and the diffusion cell was cleaned using ionized water
to avoid errors in the next experiment.
The same procedure was followed as described above where also the conductivity of the new
distilled water was measured and recorded. This time, 2 M of Sodium Chloride was used to
fill the diffusion cell and which was also taken back to the diffusion vessel. one minute was
allowed to pass in order to allow the Sodium Chloride to partially mix with distilled water,
and after one minute was passed the 20 minutes was set also and four different readings of
conductivity and their temperature, were taken each 5 minutes interval. After the readings
were all taken, the magnetic stir was switched off and the BNC connector and mini photo
jack were disconnected from the conductivity meter. Each solution from both the diffusion
cell and diffusion vessel was drained in a sink and rinsed using distilled water.
The same procedure was followed but this time the diffusion cell was filled with 4M of
Sodium Chloride and the conductivity was taken every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. The last
step was to clean the working area and put everything in the correct place.
Below is the apparatus used for experimenting.

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2.2Experimental datasheet

For 1 M
Time(s) Conductivity()
0 290
300 326
600 354
900 374
1200 minutes 394

For 2M
Time(s) Conductivity()
0 406
300 489
600 534
900 564
1200 594

For 4M
Time(second) Conductivity
0 305
300 455
600 627
900 712
1200 771

3. Results and discussions.

3.1figures

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time for 1 M of Sodium Chloride

Conductivity versus time

700

600
f(x) = 0.150333333333333 x + 427.2

500
conductivity

400

300

200

100

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Time(s)

for 2 M of Sodium chloride

Conductivity versus time

700

600
f(x) = 0.150333333333333 x + 427.2
500
conductivity

400

300

200

100

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Time(s)

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For 4M of sodium Chloride

conductivity versus time

900
800
f(x) = 0.396333333333333 x + 336.2
700
600
conductivity

500
400
300
200
100
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Time(s)

3.2Calculations
Given data
Volume=1L
Length of capillary=0.045cm
Diameter=0.1cm
Molar concentration=1 M,2M, 4M
Number of capillaries=121
Cm=0.112µS
For 1 M NaCl solution
−4 Vx dk
D=
π d 2 NM C M dt

−4(1)(0.045)
D=
π ¿¿
D=4.0926 cm 2/s

For 2 M NACL SOLUTION

−4 Vx dk
D=
π d 2 NM C M dt

−4(1)(0.045) (594−534 )
D=
π ( 0.1 ) ( 121)(2)(0.112) (1200−600)
2

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 D=0.0211 cm 2/s
For 4M NACL Solution
−4 Vx dk
D=
π d 2 NM C M dt

−4 (1)( 0.045) (771−627)

D=
π ( 0.1 ) ( 121)(4)(0.112) (1200−600)
2

D=0.02078cm 2/s

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4. Discussion

The results indicate that the diffusivity of 1M is higher than does of 2M and 4M, they also
show that the slope of 1M is also higher than those of 2M and 4M. It was found that the
conductivity of increase as the concentration and time goes by. Conductivity is also the
capacity of a solution to conduct electricity. It is reliant on the ion content of the solution.
Ionic substances, like NaCl, that dissolve in water are the source of ions. Because of this,
there will be more molecules present as the concentration rises. The concentration of ions in
the solution rises as the number of molecules grows, which also raises the conductivity and
diffusivity values. From the results, a conclusion can be made which says that diffusivity
decreases as the concentration of the solution increase and it increases as the slope of the
graph increase. The law that was used to calculate diffusivity, shows that diffusivity is
inversely proportional to concentration and directly proportional to the gradient of the graphs.
The significance of the results is that the valid law that was used to calculate diffusivity.
The results that were obtained correlate with the expected results in terms of the relationship
between the diffusivity, slope, and concentration of the solutions. Errors might have happened
when the experiment was conducted. Firstly when washing the solution for the second
experiment, so of the concentration of Sodium Chloride with the value 1M might be stuck on
the wall of the diffusion vessel. In the last experiment, some bubbles were trapped in the
diffusion cell which also might have tempted the value of conductivity of the last experiment.
Lastly, Sodium Chloride and distilled water might have not to mix thoroughly which will also
affect the value of the first conductivity for each experiment. In addition, when filling the
diffusion with the solution of NaCl some foreign particles might drop in inside the diffusion
cell.
The limitation of the experiments is only one machine was used during the experiment which
did give another option to validate the results for each concentration of sodium chloride.
Secondly is that there was not enough time to repeat the experiment for each concentration.
The strength of the experiment is that during the recording of the results many students were
available which avoided the recording error. Secondly, the solution of sodium chloride was
already mixed by the instructor which avoided the error which could have happened in terms
of the correct mass of NaCl and the value of water used to mix the Sodium Chloride.

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5. Conclusion
The longer the time the higher the value of conductivity and the higher the concentration of
solution the higher the value of conductivity. Diffusivity is directly proportional slope of the
graphs and inversely proportional to the concentration of the solution.

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6. Recommendations
 Repeated the experiments at least three times to get the values of conductivity and
check if the results are constant, if they are not the average values will be used.
 Provide at least three liquid diffusion coefficient apparatuses to be used during the
experiments to avoid the chance of mixing different concentrations of Sodium
Chloride
 Check the availability of bubbles in the diffusion cell after filling the diffusion cell
with the solution before starting the experiment.
 Provide a reading level instead of using the green mark to get an accurate level of
distilled water.
 Check carefully for whether the capillaries are not floating when filling the diffusion
cell with NaCl solution

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7. References
1. Bennett, C. O. & Myers, J. E. (1982), Chemical Engineering Series (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill,
Inc., Page 491

2. Calcium Chloride (2008). Retrieved July 6, 2013, from

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/chemical/saltcom.htm

3. Diffen (2012). Retrieved July 6, 2013, from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Diffusion_vs_Osmosi

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8. Appendices

Cm =conductivity change

µS= micro siemens

NaCl= Sodium Chloride

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