NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF TRUJILLO AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING VII

FOOD ENGINEERING II

DETERMINATION OF MOLECULAR DIFFUSIVITY OF TWO

HIGHLY VOLATILE LIQUIDS IN THE AIR

I. INTRODUCTION

The unit operations of agro-industry constitute the physical and chemical stages
the biochemicals that integrate the industrial processes, in which they are transformed or
they manipulate food and non-food products. A system with two or more
constituents (mixtures) whose concentrations vary from one point to another present a
natural tendency to transfer matter minimizing concentration differences
within the system. This phenomenon is called mass or matter transfer. Thus,
when sugar is added to coffee or a perfume bottle is opened in a room
this phenomenon occurs. The time required to achieve a uniform concentration of
sugar in the coffee will depend on whether it is stirred or not. Similarly, the time needed for it to
the perfume will spread throughout the room will vary depending on whether a
fan or not. Therefore, it can be qualitatively deduced that the transfer of
matter will depend on the dynamics of the system. Therefore, two types can be considered
of matter transfer:

Molecular transfer in fluids at rest occurs in the 3 states of matter.

aggregation of matter and it is the result of a concentration gradient,
temperaturepressure, or dapplication to the mixing of an electric potential.

Transfer of matter modified by the dynamics of the system. Called

also convective transfer.

According to the physical nature of the medium considered, different ones can present themselves.

situations in which the transfer of matter occurs by one or both

transport mechanisms considered.
a) When there is no concentration gradient of the considered component, if
the medium is fluid, there can only be advective transport. But this type of
the problem is studied as the transport of momentum and not of
subject.
b) When there is a concentration gradient of the component, and the medium is a
in fluid at rest, the transfer of matter occurs through molecular flow,
being due solely to molecular diffusion.

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

c) When there is a concentration gradient and the medium is a fluid that

moves in laminar flow, the transfer of matter occurs by both
mechanisms.
d) When the medium is a fluid in which there is turbulence and gradients of
concentration, the transport mechanisms of molecular and advective matter
they are presented simultaneously.

Diffusion is the movement, under the influence of a physical stimulus, of a

individual component through a mixture. The most common cause of diffusion is
a concentration gradient of the component that diffuses. A gradient of
concentration tends to move the component in a direction that equalizes the
concentrations and annul the gradient. When the gradient is maintained by the
continuous supply of low and high concentration components, the flow of
the component that is diffused is continuous. This movement is utilized in the
transfer operations of matter, for example; a salt crystal in contact with
A current of water or a diluted solution generates a concentration gradient.
in the vicinity of the interface, diffusing the salt through the layers of liquid
in the direction perpendicular to the interface. The flow of salt out of the interface is
intimately mixed with an insoluble solid, the process is an example of leaching.
Although the usual cause of diffusion is a concentration gradient, diffusion
it can also be caused by a pressure gradient, by a gradient of
temperature or the application of an external force. Molecular diffusion induced by
a pressure gradient (not partial pressure) is called Pressure Diffusion,
Induced by temperature is Thermal Diffusion and that due to an external field is the
Forced Dissemination.

The practice carried out shows a system in which a very volatile liquid A
Content in a capillary evaporates and diffuses through a gas B that is not soluble in it.
liquid.

Therefore, the practice aimed to: familiarize oneself with the phenomena of
mass transfer, make known the methodology for calculating the coefficient of
diffusivity and determination of the diffusion rate of a gas and compare them
values obtained experimentally with the values found in the literature.

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

II. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

Materials

96º Alcohol
Acetone
Stopwatch
Graduated ruler.
Capillary tubes

Methodology

This experimental practice was carried out by placing the substances

volatiles (alcohol and acetone) in capillary tubes, simultaneously recorded
the temperature and the initial time. The experimental setup installed is
shown in Fig 1.
Later, the distance between position 1 and 2 was measured at intervals of time.
When the experiment started at initial time 0, it corresponded to the
initial height (Lo).
The concentration Ca must be taken into account.1it depends on the pressure
partial of the compound at the indicated temperature.

Fig. 1 Experimental scheme to determine diffusivity.

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Carrying out the corresponding calculations for the ambient temperature and pressure of
the city of Guadalupe, we obtained the following necessary data for the calculation of the
Molecular diffusivity of alcohol

Table 1. Experimental results for the alcohol

Time (s) L0(cm) L-L 0(cm) t/(L-L0)

0 0 0 0 0
2400 0.9 0 0.9 2666.66667
4800 1,1 0 1,1 4363,63636
7200 1.4 0 1.4 5142.85714
9600 1.5 0 1.5 6400
12000 1.6 0 1.6 7500

Once the experimental data was obtained, an analysis of variance was performed to
test if the relationship for the values is based on the distance in the
capillary and is a function of time for each distance that exists in the capillary
due to the diffusivity of alcohol in the air.

Table 2. Analysis of Variance for (L-L0) y (t/L-L0in Alcohol

Degrees of Sum of Average of the Critical value
F
freedom squares squares of F
Regression 1 34390296.7 34390296.7 64.902575
Waste 4 2119502.76 529875.69
Total 5 36509799.4

The value of F in the analysis of variance shows that if we conduct a test of

hypothesis to regression, the null hypothesis will be rejected therefore there is a relationship between
the values of X and Y

Table 3. Values for the coefficients of the simple linear regression for Alcohol
Error
Coefficients t Statistic Probability
typical
-459.1918
(L-L0( 4435.1248 550.522253 8.05621344
0.00128909

In table 3. The column with the coefficients gives us the values of aybde.
the equation of the line, this data will be important to determine the diffusivity
alcohol molecule in air.

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

Using the formula to determine diffusivity as a function of concentrations

The diffusivity of alcohol in air is obtained experimentally, as indicated in Table 7.

For acetone, the same procedure and the same calculations were performed.
experimental; The data obtained from the experiment can be found in Table 4.

Table 4. Experimental results for acetone

Time (s) L (cm) L0 (cm) L-Lo (cm) t/(L-Lo)

0 0 0 0 0
2700 0.6 0 0.6 4500
6300 1,2 0 1,2 5250
9600 1.5 0 1.5 6400
13500 1.7 0 1.7 7941,17647
16500 1.8 0 1.8 9166.66667

It is observed that as time passes, the evaporation rate of acetone

begins to decrease considerably. A L-L 0y t/(L-L 0An analysis was conducted on
Variance and it was tested that the regression is highly significant.

Table 5. Analysis of Variance for (L-L0) y (t/L-L0in Acetone

Degrees of Sum of Average of Value
F
freedom squares the squares critic of F
Regression 1 48104966.1 48104966.1 56.4241343 0.00168103
Waste 4 3410240,43 852560,108
Total 5 51515206.5

Table 6 shows the coefficients that are important in the slope.

Equation to determine the molecular diffusivity of acetone.

Table 6. Values for the coefficients of the Acetone equation

Error Statistician
Coefficients Probability
typical t
Interception 544.80075 764.749924 0.71239072 0.5155725
Variable X
1 4410,15274 587,1123 7,51159998 0,00168103

Finally using the diffusivity formulas as a function of the

we obtain the diffusivity of alcohol and acetone as they are
show in Table 7.

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Table 7. Experimental and theoretical results of the diffusivity

of alcohol and acetone at 20ºC

Experimental Diffusivity Theoretical diffusivity

Substance
m2/s m2/s
Alcohol 81,160-5 1.15 x 10-5*

Acetone 199-6 2.83 x 10-6**

(Lewis, 1993)
(Coulson, 1979)

If the diffusivity of the substance in air to be worked with is not found in the literature
(texts) to the desired temperature, can be calculated using the methods that have been proposed.
different authors for the calculation of gas diffusivity. For this case, it can be
consult the Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook.

Comparing the Theoretical Diffusivity of alcohol exposed by Lewis, 1993. With the
DABexperimental, we will have an error of 14.16 %.

For the theoretical diffusivity of acetone presented by Coulson, 1979. Compared

with the DABexperimental, the error obtained is 14.22%.

So seeing that the error percentages are around 14%, it can be concluded
saying that the experimental measurements fail mainly due to errors in the
measurement. These types of errors are related to the person performing the measurement and
also that it does not always measure the same. In any case, errors are also obtained.
big because the measurements are very small and therefore any deviation from it
exact and precise make themselves more noticeable.

IV. CONCLUSIONS

The molar diffusivity of alcohol and acetone was determined experimentally.

the alcohol molar diffusivity was 8.116 x 10-5m2and for acetone the diffusivity
determined was 19.9 x 10-6Compared to the theoretical diffusivities, these
Experimental determinations show an error around 14%.

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

V. REFERENCES

Coulson, J. (1979). Chemical engineering: Fluid flow, heat transfer and

mass transfer. Spain: Editorial Rreverté S.A.

From Llano, C. (2007). Physics. Mexico: Editorial Progreso S.A.

Lewis, M. (1993). Physical properties of food and processing systems.

Zaragoza: Acribia S.A. Editorial

O'Connor, P. (1977). Chemistry: Experiments and Theory. Barcelona: Rreverté Publishing.

S.A.

Perry, R. (1997). Chemical Engineer's Handbook. Mexico: McGraw-Hill.

Laboratory Practices of Organic Chemistry

Murcia: Published

Organic Chemistry

Wentworth, W., & Ladner, J. (1975). Fundamentals of Physical Chemistry. Barcelona:

Reverté Editorial S.A.

Physics

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

ANNEXES

Calculation of Diffusivity as a function of concentrations:

Calculation of the diffusivity as a function of pressures:

Then linearizing the values of (t/(L-Lo)) we found the values of a and b for
each gas

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

Table 8. Vapor pressure-composition corresponding to Acetone in

mmHg at 20 °C

XA 0 0.52 0.127 0.249 0.457 0.612 0.666 0.842 0.936 0.979 1.0
PA 0 20 42 70 105 120 131 145 175 181 185

(Wentworth & Ladner, 1975)

Table 9. Vapor pressure corresponding to Ethanol

Vapor pressure
Substance Temperature (ºC)
(mmHg)
20 44
Alcohol 25 59
40 135
60 353

Source: (O'Connor, 1977)

To calculate the partial pressure of the substance, the following formula was used.
according to Perry, 1997:

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Table 9. Physical and thermodynamic properties of alcohol and acetone

Substance Density (g/L) Molecular weight g/mol

alcohol
789.34a 46.07b
acetone
792c 58.1d

a (Wilson & Buffa, 2003)

b (Thornton & Neilson, 1998)
c (From Llano, 2007)
d (Solano & Pérez, 1991)

Table 10. Mass diffusivities for gases in air at 25 ºC and 1 atm.

Gas Diffusivity (m2s-1)

Ammonia 27.9 x 10-6
Carbon dioxide 16.5 x 10-6
Ethanol 11.9 x 10-6
Hydrogen 41.3 x 10-6
Oxygen 20.6 x 10-6
Water vapor 25.5 x 10-6

Source: (Lewis, 1993)

To calculate the diffusivity of the substance at 20 ºC, the following was used
formula according to Perry, 1997:

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FOOD ENGINEERING II

Graph 1. Scatter plot of t/(L-L0) Vs (L-L0for Alcohol

8000
7000
6000
5000
4000 y = 4435.1x - 459.19
3000
2000
1000
0
-1000 0 0.5 1 1.5 2
L-Lo (cm)

Graph 2. Scatter diagram of t/(L-L0) Vs (L-L0) for the Alcohol

10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000 y = 4410.2x + 544.8
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
L-Lo (cm)

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