DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL

ENGINEERING

Lecture 8: Interfacial phenomena

Prof. Aubrey Mainza

 The roots of education are
bitter, but the fruit is sweet.  

— Aristotle

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Two film theory - overall mass transfer coefficients – uni-molecular diffusion Lecture [ 8 ]

(7.6)

(7.7)

3
Two film theory - overall mass transfer coefficients – uni-molecular diffusion Lecture [ 8 ]

Video showing how mass

transfer coefficient relate to
heat transfer coefficients:

https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=kKsxZy2mAeM

(8.1)

(8.2)

(8.3)

4
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory Lecture [ 8 ]

Comparison of equations 7.2 and 7.7 shows that, for example, considering just the gas
film:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (8.4)

A
yA
liquid bulk
gas
(mixed)

yAi

z=0 laminar gas film z=δG

The various formats of mass transfer coefficients are inter-related as follows:

liquid phase gas phase

5
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory – definition of K La Lecture [ 8 ]

Commonly find expression of mass transfer rate rather than flux:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (8.5)

Where rA takes units of volumetric mass transfer rate [mol/m 3/s]. By comparison with
(7.5) this indicates that the parameter ‘a’ has the units of [m 2/m3] and thus represents
the specific surface area for mass transfer.

This is particularly useful for gas-liquid mass transfer across complex surfaces such as
gas bubbles in an agitated tank or solution flowing over random packing in a packed
bed absorber. In many cases K La is used as an empirical lumped parameter for a
system where it is not possible to determine a separately from the mass transfer
coefficients that constitute K L.

For determination of K La for aerated tanks (common in fermentation and leaching

processes), van’t Riet’s equation is the most commonly used:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·· · (8.6)

Where is the gassed power input per unit volume of liquid (in [W/m 3]) and U

the superficial gas velocity (in [m/s]). K La is in units of [1/s].

Pg needs to be determined from correlations established for different agitator

configurations and operational parameters.
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory – definition of K La Lecture [ 8 ]

Determine pg from correlations describing the ratio of gassed to un-gassed power, p u,

such as the following for small tank fermenters (<1m 3), with turbine impellers. There
are many other correlations for other geometries:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (8.7)

where Q is the volumetric flow rate of gas through the tank [m 3/s], N is the impeller
rotational frequency [Hz], D the impeller diameter [m] , B the impellor blade width [m]

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·· · (8.8)

Np can be determined from correlations or graphs as functions of Re and impeller

configuration such as shown overleaf.
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory – determination of K La Lecture [ 8 ]
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory – limitations Lecture [ 8 ]

The use of Henry’s law in the previous analysis implies that the liquid / vapour
equilibrium relationship is a straight line. This is often the case for dilute systems.

The situation can be represented graphically as follows:

1
equilibrium
relationship
gas phase mole fraction

yA(i) = HA xA(i)
yA(bulk)

yA(i) interface
conditions

yA*
0
0 xA(bulk) xA(i) x A* 0.01

liquid phase mole fraction

9
Overall mass transfer coefficients – two film theory Lecture [ 8 ]

(8.9)

(8.10)

10
Wise men speak because they
have something to say; fools
because they have to say
something.

— Plato

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING