Size, diffusional

With these membranes we were able to show that in thin-film dialysis neither the escape rate into the diffusate nor diffusion across the membrane itself is the controlling rate expressed by the escape plot. Therefore the escape plot is a true measure of the probability of the solute finding its way into the membrane. It was suggested 15 years ago (24) that thin-film dialysis could be performed in such a way that it would be a sensitive measure of diffusional size. This has since been confirmed with many solutes (25) at a given temperature. 

These findings strengthen our confidence in the reliability of the thin-film dialysis method for determining diffusional size provided it is carried out with the precautions and care now shown experimentally to be required. It then becomes a direct measure of the probability of a solute finding its way into a pore from the solution side. Thus it can be a measure of true diffusional size, and the basis of the sensitivity or selectivity is a function of the limiting pore size relative to the diffusional size of the solute molecule. The selectivity or probability is dictated by the relationship... 

It is known that even condensed films must have surface diffusional mobility Rideal and Tadayon [64] found that stearic acid films transferred from one surface to another by a process that seemed to involve surface diffusion to the occasional points of contact between the solids. Such transfer, of course, is observed in actual friction experiments in that an uncoated rider quickly acquires a layer of boundary lubricant from the surface over which it is passed [46]. However, there is little quantitative information available about actual surface diffusion coefficients. One value that may be relevant is that of Ross and Good [65] for butane on Spheron 6, which, for a monolayer, was about 5 x 10 cm /sec. If the average junction is about 10 cm in size, this would also be about the average distance that a film molecule would have to migrate, and the time required would be about 10 sec. This rate of Junctions passing each other corresponds to a sliding speed of 100 cm/sec so that the usual speeds of 0.01 cm/sec should not be too fast for pressurized film formation. See Ref. 62 for a study of another mechanism for surface mobility, that of evaporative hopping. 

As a consequence of this, i enever bulk dlffusional resistance domin ates Knudsen diffusional resistance, so that 1, it follows that fi 1 also, and hence viscous flow dominates Knudsen streaming. Thus when we physically approach the limit of bulk diffusion control, by increasing the pore sizes or the pressure, we must simultaneously approach the limit of viscous flow. This justifies a statement made in Chapter 5. 

The two constants kj and k describe exactly the same kind of diffusional processes and differ only in direction. Hence they have the same dependence on molecular size, whatever that might be, and that dependence therefore cancels out. 

As illustrated ia Figure 6, a porous adsorbent ia contact with a fluid phase offers at least two and often three distinct resistances to mass transfer external film resistance and iatraparticle diffusional resistance. When the pore size distribution has a well-defined bimodal form, the latter may be divided iato macropore and micropore diffusional resistances. Depending on the particular system and the conditions, any one of these resistances maybe dominant or the overall rate of mass transfer may be determined by the combiaed effects of more than one resistance. 

Although current matrix diffusional systems are most suitable for small-molecule compounds, it has been demonstrated (84) that soHd hydrophobic polymers allow dispersed powdered macromolecules of nearly any size, for example, ethylene—vinyl acetate copolymers containing dispersed polypeptides, to be released for periods exceeding 100 days. 

Limitations It is desirable to have an estimate for the smallest particle size that can be effectively influenced by DEP. To do this, we consider the force on a particle due to DEP and also due to the osmotic pressure. This latter diffusional force will randomize the particles and tend to destroy the control by DEP Figure 22-32 shows a plot of these two forces, calciilated for practical and representative conditions, as a func tion of particle radius. As we can see, the smallest particles that can be effec tively handled by DEP appear to be in range of 0.01 to 0.1 piTidOO to 1000 A). 

Although they are termed homogeneous, most industrial gas-phase reactions take place in contact with solids, either the vessel wall or particles as heat carriers or catalysts. With catalysts, mass diffusional resistances are present with inert solids, the only complication is with heat transfer. A few of the reactions in Table 23-1 are gas-phase type, mostly catalytic. Usually a system of industrial interest is liquefiea to take advantage of the higher rates of liquid reactions, or to utihze liquid homogeneous cat ysts, or simply to keep equipment size down. In this section, some important noncatalytic gas reactions are described. 

Decompositions may be exothermic or endothermic. Solids that decompose without melting upon heating are mostly such that can give rise to gaseous products. When a gas is made, the rate can be affected by the diffusional resistance of the product zone. Particle size is a factor. Aging of a solid can result in crystallization of the surface that has been found to affect the rate of reaction. Annealing reduces strains and slows any decomposition rates. The decompositions of some fine powders follow a first-order law. In other cases, the decomposed fraction x is in accordance with the Avrami-Erofeyev equation (cited by Galwey, Chemistry of Solids, Chapman Hall, 1967)... 

Ceramics, on the other hand, often deform predominantly by diffusional flow (because their grains are small, and the high lattice resistance already suppresses power-law creep). Special heat treatments to increase the grain size can make them more creep-resistant. 

The calculation of C according to (6) shows (95) that if the catalyst splitting results in the formation of catalyst pellets about 1000 A in size, then even under the most unfavorable conditions (the concentration of the active centers is equal to the total chromium content in the catalyst, 2r2 = ) the diffusional restriction on the primary particle level is negligible. 

In order for diffusional limitations to be negligible, the effectiveness factor must be close to 1, i.e. nearly complete catalyst utilization, which requires that the Thiele modulus is suffieiently small (< ca. 0.5), see Figure 3.32. Therefore, the surface-over-volume ratio must be as large as possible (particle size as small as possible) from a diffusion (and heat-transfer) point of view. There are many different catalyst shapes that have different SA/V ratios for a given size. 

The Batchelor microscale physically means a size of the region within which a compound moves due to diffusional forces. This does not occur outside these regions, where compounds move because of turbulences. 

The key to obtaining pore size information from the NMR response is to have the response dominated by the surface relaxation rate [19-26]. Two steps are involved in surface relaxation. The first is the relaxation of the spin while in the proximity of the pore wall and the other is the diffusional exchange of molecules between the pore wall and the interior of the pore. These two processes are in series and when the latter dominates, the kinetics of the relaxation process is analogous to that of a stirred-tank reactor with first-order surface and bulk reactions. This condition is called the fast-diffusion limit [19] and the kinetics of relaxation are described by Eq. (3.6.3) ... 

Estimation of pore size distribution is based on the assumption that there is no diffusional coupling between pores of different sizes. Microporous carbonate grain-stones have been identified as an example where this assumption is not valid [31]. 

DOSY is a technique that may prove successful in the determination of additives in mixtures [279]. Using different field gradients it is possible to distinguish components in a mixture on the basis of their diffusion coefficients. Morris and Johnson [271] have developed diffusion-ordered 2D NMR experiments for the analysis of mixtures. PFG-NMR can thus be used to identify those components in a mixture that have similar (or overlapping) chemical shifts but different diffusional properties. Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) analysis of DOSY data allows generation of pure spectra of the individual components for identification. The pure spin-echo diffusion decays that are obtained for the individual components may be used to determine the diffusion coefficient/distribution [281]. Mixtures of molecules of very similar sizes can readily be analysed by DOSY. Diffusion-ordered spectroscopy [273,282], which does not require prior separation, is a viable competitor for techniques such as HPLC-NMR that are based on chemical separation. 

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