NPTEL Online Certification Course
Mass Transfer Operations I
Assignment 3: Detailed Solution
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
1. Molecular mass transfer is analogous to
(a) convective mass transfer
(b) convective heat transfer
(c) conductive heat transfer
(d) any of these
Ans: (c)
2. If the mass transfer flux is expressed in terms of a mass transfer coefficient, the driving force should
be
(a) the concentration difference between the interface and the bulk
(b) the concentration gradient at the interface
(c) the interfacial concentration
(d) None of the above
Ans: (a)
3. Major drawback of penetration theory is the assumption that
(a) Mass transfer occurs at steady state
(b) Contact time of each liquid element is same
(c) Equilibrium exist at the gas-liquid interface
(d) None of these
Ans: (b)
4. Corresponding to Prandtl number in heat transfer, the dimensionless number in mass transfer is
(a) Sherwood number
(b) Stanton number
(c) Peclet number
(d) Schmidt number
Ans: (d)
5. The Sherwood number, Sh
(a) Increases with the fraction factor, f
(b) Increases with the Reynolds number, Re
(c) Decreases with Re.
(d) None of the above
Ans: (b)
6. A large volume of pure water at 25 oC is flowing parallel to a flat plate of solid benzoic acid, where
L = 0.37 m in the direction of flow. The water velocity is 0.05 m/s.. The diffusivity of benzoic acid is
2.0 10-9 m2 10-4 3
and . The mass
transfer coefficient, (in m/s), (rounded off to the nearest integer) is _____.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Ans: (c)
Solution:
The Schmidt number is,
The number is
0.54(20555)1/2(450)1/3=593.276
kc =3.206×10-6 m/s
7. Experimental analysis found a convective mass transfer coefficient (kG') of 2.486×10-8 kmol/[Link]
for equimolar counterdiffusion of species A through B at atmospheric pressure. Calculate the
corresponding value (kG) and the resulting mass flux for diffusion of A through a stagnant layer of B
for the same conditions and concentrations, namely partial pressures PA1 = 10000 and PA2 = 5400 Pa.
Use the relation
.
Consider up to one decimal point and integer value.
(a) flux is 1.2×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 2.7×10-8 kmol/[Link]
(b) flux is 1.3×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 3.5×10-8 kmol/[Link]
(c) flux is 1.4×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 2.7×10-8 kmol/[Link]
(d) flux is 1.2×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 3.5×10-8 kmol/[Link]
Ans: (a)
Solution
Find the conversion between kG and k'G [relation given in the question]
From a total pressure of 101325 Pascals:
PA1 = 5000 Pa PB1 = 101 325 - 10000 = 91325 Pa
PA2 = 2400 Pa PB2 = 101 325 - 5400 = 95925 Pa
For stagnant layer,
NA = kG(PA1 - PA2) = 2.69× 10-8 (10000 - 5400) = 1.237×10-4 kmol/m2s
i.e. flux is 1.237×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 2.69×10-8 kmol/[Link]
Therefore, flux is 1.2×10-4 kmol/m2s, mass transfer coefficient 2.7 ×10-8 kmol/[Link]