EXPERIMENT NO.

18

MASS TRANSFER WITH CHEMICAL REACTION

1. Aim
1. To study the dissolution of benzoic acid in aqueous NaOH solution.
2.To find the enhancement in the rate of dissolution due to simultaneous reaction and compare it
with the enhancement predicted on the basis of the film and boundary layer models
2. Theory
Solid-liquid mass transfer plays an important role in some industrial operations. The dissolution
may occur with or without chemical reaction. In case dissolution is accompanied by solid-liquid
reaction, it is desirable to know the enhancement in the rate of mass transfer due to chemical
reaction. In the present experiment we aim at finding the enhancement in the rate of dissolution
due to simultaneous reaction and compare it with the enhancement predicted on the basis of the
film and boundary layer models. The system is: dissolution of benzoic acid in aqueous NaOH
solution.
The dissolution of a solid in a solution accompanied with instantaneous chemical reaction can be
expressed as:

B B

Product

Where, A is the solid and B is the liquid phase reactant, assuming the reaction to be
instantaneous so that A and B dont coexist. The mechanism of solid dissolution involves
dissolution of A in B followed by its reaction with species B diffusing from the bulk liquid phase
at a reaction plane.

If the film model is applied to this situation, the enhancement factor, defined as the ratio of the
solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient with reaction, kr to the mass transfer coefficient without
reaction, k, given by:

film

kr
k

B0
DA
DB

*
DB
D A B A
--------- (1)

And for boundary layer model it is:

D
k
r A
k
DB

1/ 3

D
B
DA

2/3

Bo
B A
---------- (2)

3. Experimental Set-up
The Set-up consists of a cylinder of benzoic acid mounted on a SS rod and driven by a D.C.

motor. The operational range of rotation is between 10 to 30 rpm. The cylinder is immersed in an
aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide of known concentration in a 1500 ml vessel filled to 2/3 rd
its capacity. The position of the benzoic acid cylinder is so adjusted that the liquid level rises
above the top surface by about 3 cm. The dimensions of the benzoic acid cylinder may be fixed
at diameter: 2 to 3 cm, length: 5 to 7 cm. The cylinder can be prepared by pouring molten
benzoic acid in the mould of desired dimensions with 4 to 5 mm SS rod located in the center of
the mould in a vertical position.
4. Experimental Procedure
1. Record the dimensions of the benzoic acid cylinder (length and OD of SS rod).
2. Fill the vessel with aqueous NaOH solution of known concentration of 2/3rd of its volume.
Record the volume of aqueous NaOH solution added (V=1.5 L).
3. Start the water bath and fix the dissolution temperature (ambient to 50 0C), wait till the
aqueous solution attains the desired temperature.
4. Now fix the benzoic acid cylinder inside the vessel containing aqueous NaOH solution and
start the motor at a fixed rotational speed. (N, rpm)
5. Run the experiment for 10 minutes.
6. Stop the motor and remove the benzoic acid cylinder and measure the dimensions.
7. Mix thoroughly the contents of vessel and analyze it for un-reacted NaOH concentration by
titration against standard HCL solution.
8. Repeat steps 1 to 8 for taking atleast 4 readings.
9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 using de-ionized water. This run may be carried for about 45 to 60 minutes
duration. During this period small samples (5 ml) should be withdraw at regular intervals of
10 minutes and analyzed for dissolved benzoic acid by titration against 0.02 N NaOH
solution.
5. Observations and Calculations
Reaction:

C6H5COOH + NaOH
C6H5COONa + H2O
(For each mole of benzoic acid dissolved, 1 mole of NaOH is consumed)
Thus rate of dissolution can be determined by measuring the fall in NaOH concentration.
1. Recommended concentration range for aqueous NaOH solution (B0) : 0.2 N
2. For each titration in case of estimation of NaOH use 10 ml of solution and titrate against
standard 0.1 N HCL solution using suitable indicator.
2. For each titration in case of estimation of dissolved benzoic acid use 5 ml of solution and
titrate against 0.02 N standard NaOH solution.
Time of dissolution
= t (sec)
Dissolution temp
= T oC
In Case of with Chemical reaction
Normality of HCL used for titration (N1 )
= 0.1 N
Let titer value for estimation NaOH
= V1 (m3)
Volume of Sample taken (V2)
= 10 ml
Let the normality of unused NaOH in dissolution be N2

N1V1 = N2V2
N2 =N1V1 /V2
The rate of dissolution of Benzoic acid:
R = (N2/ t) * Vol. of NaOH sol. in tank * (10-3) kmol/sec
In Case of without Chemical reaction
Normality of NaOH used for titration (N1B)
= 0.02 N
Let titer value for benzoic acid estimation
= V1B (m3)
Volume of NaOH taken (V2B)
= 5 ml
Let the normality of dissolved Benzoic acid in dissolution be N2B
N1BV1B = N2BV2B
N2B =N1BV1B /V2B
The bulk liquid conc of benzoic acid at time t is Ab = N2B * (10-3)
The solubility of benzoic acid in water is [A]
= 0.0276

kmol/m3
kmol/m3

Let the average dimensions (avg. of start and of expt.) of benzoic acid cylinder be Dav, Lav.
Let S.S. rod diameter
= dr.

Dav Lav 2 D 2 av d r 2
4

Average surface area, As

=
Specific rate of dissolution, R
= R / As
kmol/m2-s

Experimental value for enhancement factor

R'
exp
k * [ A]
Where,
k is obtained from physical dissolution run (i.e. with plain water)
After integrating the material balance equation for a species, we have:

As
A
t In 1 b
V
A

After plotting t vs. ln [1 - Ab / A], we record the slope of the line given by:
Slope = k*(As / V); knowing As and V, we get k.

The theoretical values for enhancement factor, for the film model and boundary layer model is
obtained from Eq.1 and Eq.2 respectively.
The diffusivity of benzoic acid, may be obtained from the literature (at 30 0C )
DA = 1.04 x 10-9
DB = 4.1 x 10-9

Compare the theoretical values for

with the experimental values and observe that boundary
layer model is more close to the experimental value.

6. Results and Discussion

7. Conclusion