52

(4) Introduction to Convective Mass Transfer

The equation that governs mass transfer processes when the material has a nonzero
velocity field for dilute systems with constant c and DAB is the convective-diffusion
equation (68):

∂c A
+ v ⋅ ∇c A = D AB∇ 2 c A + R A (68)
∂t

which is expanded for common coordinate systems in page 14. In this section, we will
explore an application of this equation to the specific example described in page 1: a
liquid solvent (B) flowing in laminar flow through a cylindrical pipe encounters at z=0 a
film of a soluble solid deposit (A) attached to the wall of the pipe (Figure 1). We will
assume that the fluid flow is developed, so that the velocity profile is

⎛ r2 ⎞
v z = 2 < v z > ⎜⎜1 − ⎟⎟ (255)
⎝ R2 ⎠

Furthermore, we will consider that the process is at steady state. The concentration of
solute for z>0 will be a function of both radial and axial positions: cA=cA(r,z). Under
these conditions, the convective-diffusion equation in cylindrical coordinates (page 14)
simplifies to

∂c A ⎡1 ∂ ⎛ ∂c A ⎞ ∂ 2 c A ⎤
vz = D AB ⎢ ⎜r ⎟+ ⎥ (256)
∂z ⎣ r ∂r ⎝ ∂r ⎠ ∂z 2 ⎦

This partial differential equation is mathematically equivalent to the equation describing

the temperature field in the heat convection problem studied in pages II-48+. In that
analysis, we stated that, under certain conditions, the axial diffusion (conduction) term in
equation (256) could be neglected with respect to the convective term. Following a
similar order of magnitude analysis, we can conclude that, in this case, if

L
Pe »1 (257)
2R

then

∂c A ∂ 2c A
vz »D AB (258)
∂z ∂z 2

where the mass transfer Péclet number is defined by

< v z > 2R
Pe = (259)
D AB
 53

Under these conditions, equation (256) simplifies to

∂c A 1 ∂ ⎛ ∂c A ⎞
vz = D AB ⎜r ⎟ (260)
∂z r ∂r ⎝ ∂r ⎠

Appropriate boundary conditions are:

cA=0, z=0 (261)

∂c A
= 0 , r=0 (262)
∂r

cA=cAs, r=R (263)

where cAs is the solubility of A in the solvent. Next, we make the problem dimensionless
by defining the following dimensionless variables

c
Θ= A (264)
c As

r
η= (265)
R

z
ξ= (266)
PeR

Using these definitions and equation (255) in equation (260) leads to

(1 − η2 ) ∂∂Θξ = η1 ∂∂η ⎛⎜⎜ η ∂∂Θη ⎞⎟⎟ (267)

⎝ ⎠

and the boundary conditions (261) to (263) become

Θ=0, ξ=0 (268)

∂Θ
= 0 , η=0 (269)
∂η

Θ=1, η=1 (270)

This problem is identical to the corresponding heat transfer problem (equations II-255 to
II-258). As in that case, we will seek a solution for the entrance region. That is, when the
concentration only varies in a small region around the wall of the pipe. Using the solution
found before, let
 54

1− η
s= (271)
ξ1 / 3

and the solution is (equation II-279):

s
⎛ 2s 3 ⎞
Θ = 1 − 0.6783∫ exp⎜⎜ − ⎟ds (272)
⎝ 9 ⎟⎠
0

The dissolution flux is given by

∂c
− N Ar r = R = D AB A (273)
∂r r = R

Using equation (272) we obtain, after manipulations

1/ 3
D ⎛ RPe ⎞
− N Ar r = R = 0.6783 AB c As ⎜ ⎟ (274)
R ⎝ z ⎠

Recalling that cA=0 away from the boundary layer (at the core of the pipe), we define
now a convective mass transfer coefficient as

− N Ar r = R =k c c As (275)

From these last two equations we find,

1/ 3
k c ( 2R ) ⎛ RPe ⎞
= 1.357⎜ ⎟ (276)
D AB ⎝ z ⎠

The left-hand side of this equation is the Sherwood number (equation 115). The Péclet
number is usually expressed in terms of the Reynolds number

ρ < v z > 2R
Re = (277)
μ

and the Schmidt number, defined as

μ
Sc = (278)
ρD AB

Note that
 55

Pe=ReSc (279)
so that equation (276) is usually written as

1/ 3
⎛R⎞
Sh = 1.357⎜ ⎟ (Re Sc)1 / 3 (280)
⎝z⎠

Note the similarity with equation (II-292).