Interface mass transfer coefficient

One possible way to modify Eq. (75) was suggested in a paper by Scott, Tung, and Drickamer (S7), who proposed that the mass flux across the interface. (intJ be written as the product of an interface mass transfer coefficient fe[Pg.181]

Recommendations The best up to date work on gas-liquid interface mass-transfer coefficients in a stirred three-phase column is by Joosten et al.51 For a three-phase fluidized bed, the data of Ostergaard and Fosbol, 03 Kito et al.,59 and Nishikawa et al.92 should be used wherever possible. Future work should include the derivation of a correlation for KLaL for the hydrocarbon systems. At present, the best available correlation for the gas-liquid interfacial area in a three-phase fluidized bed is that by Strumillo and Kudra [Eq. (9-44)]. 

Obviously these aspects can be quite different for different configurations. If one compares, for a given two-phase system, two configurations on the basis of an equal inteifacial area, then the relative volumes of each phase, and also the interface mass transfer coefficients, can be quite different. 

Optimal reactor design is critical for the effectiveness and economic viability of AOPs. The WAO process poses significant challenges to chemical reactor engineering and design, due to the (i) multiphase nature of WAO reactions (ii) temperatures and pressures of the reaction and (iii) radical reaction mechanism. In multiphase reactors, complex relationships are present between parameters such as chemical kinetics, thermodynamics, interphase/intraphase intraparticle mass transport, flow patterns, and hydrodynamics influencing reactant mass transfer. Complex models of WAO are necessary to take into account the influence of catalyst wetting, the interface mass-transfer coefficients, the intraparticle effective diffusion coefficient, and the axial dispersion coefficient. " ... 

Film Theory. Many theories have been put forth to explain and correlate experimentally measured mass transfer coefficients. The classical model has been the film theory (13,26) that proposes to approximate the real situation at the interface by hypothetical "effective" gas and Hquid films. The fluid is assumed to be essentially stagnant within these effective films making a sharp change to totally turbulent flow where the film is in contact with the bulk of the fluid. As a result, mass is transferred through the effective films only by steady-state molecular diffusion and it is possible to compute the concentration profile through the films by integrating Fick s law ... 

Interfacial Contact Area and Approach to Equilibrium. Experimental extraction cells such as the original Lewis stirred cell (52) are often operated with a flat Hquid—Hquid interface the area of which can easily be measured. In the single-drop apparatus, a regular sequence of drops of known diameter is released through the continuous phase (42). These units are useful for the direct calculation of the mass flux N and hence the mass-transfer coefficient for a given system. 

To estimate the slumping motion of the kiln bed which periodically exposes a fresh, vapor saturated surface at the bed—freeboard interface must be considered. Based on Pick s second law in a bed of porosity, S, and for an effective diffusion coefficient, the mass-transfer coefficient on the bed side is... 

The integration of equation 35 requites a knowledge of the mass-transfer coefficient, ky-a, and also of the interface conditions from which could be obtained. Combining equations 27, 28, and 34 gives a relation balancing transfer rate on both sides of the interface ... 

Thus, the enthalpy and temperature of the vapor—Hquid interface are related to the Hquid temperature and gas enthalpy at any point in the column through a ratio of heat- and mass-transfer coefficients. 

Under equiUbrium or near-equiUbrium conditions, the distribution of volatile species between gas and water phases can be described in terms of Henry s law. The rate of transfer of a compound across the water-gas phase boundary can be characterized by a mass-transfer coefficient and the activity gradient at the air—water interface. In addition, these substance-specific coefficients depend on the turbulence, interfacial area, and other conditions of the aquatic systems. They may be related to the exchange constant of oxygen as a reference substance for a system-independent parameter reaeration coefficients are often known for individual rivers and lakes. 

Mass-Transfer Coefficient Denoted by /c, K, and so on, the mass-transfer coefficient is the ratio of the flux to a concentration (or composition) difference. These coefficients generally represent rates of transfer that are much greater than those that occur by diffusion alone, as a result of convection or turbulence at the interface where mass transfer occurs. There exist several principles that relate that coefficient to the diffusivity and other fluid properties and to the intensity of motion and geometry. Examples that are outlined later are the film theoiy, the surface renewal theoiy, and the penetration the-oiy, all of which pertain to ideahzed cases. For many situations of practical interest like investigating the flow inside tubes and over flat surfaces as well as measuring external flowthrough banks of tubes, in fixed beds of particles, and the like, correlations have been developed that follow the same forms as the above theories. Examples of these are provided in the subsequent section on mass-transfer coefficient correlations. 

It is important to understand that when chemical reactions are involved, this definition of Cl is based ou the driving force defined as the difference between the couceutratiou of un reacted solute gas at the interface and in the bulk of the liquid. A coefficient based ou the total of both uureacted and reached gas could have values. smaller than the physical-absorption mass-transfer coefficient /c . 

When the two liquid phases are in relative motion, the mass transfer coefficients in eidrer phase must be related to die dynamical properties of the liquids. The boundary layer thicknesses are related to the Reynolds number, and the diffusive Uansfer to the Schmidt number. Another complication is that such a boundaty cannot in many circumstances be regarded as a simple planar interface, but eddies of material are U ansported to the interface from the bulk of each liquid which change the concenuation profile normal to the interface. In the simple isothermal model there is no need to take account of this fact, but in most indusuial chcumstances the two liquids are not in an isothermal system, but in one in which there is a temperature gradient. The simple stationary mass U ansfer model must therefore be replaced by an eddy mass U ansfer which takes account of this surface replenishment. 

The mass-transfer coefficient per unit area for clean interfaces can be written as ... 

The relation between CAi[ and CAi2 is determined by the phase equilibrium relationship since the molecular layers on each side of the interface are assumed to be in equilibrium with one another. It may be noted that the ratio of the differences in concentrations is inversely proportional to the ratio of the mass transfer coefficients. If the bulk concentrations, CAt> and CA02 are fixed, the interface concentrations will adjust to values which satisfy equation 10.98. This means that, if the relative value of the coefficients changes, the interface concentrations will change too. In general, if the degree of turbulence of the fluid is increased, the effective film thicknesses will be reduced and the mass transfer coefficients will be correspondingly increased. 

Usually, the values of the concentration at the interface are not known and the mass transfer coefficient is considered for the overall process. Overall transfer coefficients are then defined by ... 

Some workers have attempted to base the design of humidifiers on the overall heat transfer coefficient between the liquid and gas phases. This treatment is not satisfactory since the quantities of heat transferred through the liquid and through the gas are not the same, as some of the heat is utilised in effecting evaporation at the interface. In fact, at the bottom of a tall tower, the transfer of heat in both the liquid and the gas phases may be towards the interface, as already indicated. A further objection to the use of overall coefficients is that the Lewis relation may be applied only to the heat and mass transfer coefficients in the gas phase. 

When Kh is a function of composition, the concept of overall mass transfer coefficient stops being useful. Instead, the overall resistance to mass transfer is divided between two him resistances, one for each phase. This is done by assuming that equilibrium is achieved at the interface. The equilibrium values are related by a function having the form of Henry s law ... 

Specific interface in gas/liquid systems Mass-transfer coefficient Time-dependent dispersion coefficient Knudscn number Reaction rate constant... 

The modeling of mass transport from the bulk fluid to the interface in capillary flow typically applies an empirical mass transfer coefficient approach. The mass transfer coefficient is defined in terms of the flux and driving force J = kc(cbuik-c). For non-reactive steady state laminar flow in a square conduit with constant molecular diffusion D, the mass balance in the fluid takes the form... 

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