MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)

Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction

The transport or migration of one constituent from a region of higher concentration to that of a lower
concentration is known as mass transfer.

Mass transfer operations are broadly classified into three categories-

1. Direct contact of two immiscible or partially miscible phases,

2. Phases separated by membrane, and
3. Direct contact of miscible phases.

1. Direct Contact of Two Immiscible or Partially Miscible Phases

The majority of industrial mass transfer operations come under this category in which separation is
achieved by taking advantage of the unequal distribution of components in two phases at equilibrium.

For example, if a mixture of air and ammonia is brought into intimate contact with water, ammonia
passes on to the liquid phase.

As the concentration of ammonia in the liquid builds up, the transfer of ammonia from liquid to gas phase
starts and increases till the two rates of transfer become equal and a dynamic equilibrium is established
within the system.
At equilibrium, there is no net transfer of ammonia and no further change in its concentrations in the two
phases occurs unless the operating conditions are changed and a new set of equilibrium established.
At equilibrium, the concentrations of ammonia in the two phases will be different, but their chemical
potential will be the same.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar

 MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)
Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction
Direct contact of two immiscible or partially miscible phases can further be sub-divided into different unit
operations according to the phases involved and the direction in which the transfer takes place, as follow-

Gas/Vapour–Liquid Contact
The separation of one or more components of a gaseous mixture by preferential dissolution in a liquid
(solvent) is called gas absorption.
If on the other hand, the transfer is from liquid phase to gas phase, the operation is known as stripping or
desorption.
The principle involved in both absorption or stripping is the same, the only difference being in the direction
of transfer.
In these operations, the added solvent or the gas acts as the separating agent.
A typical example of gas absorption is the removal of carbon dioxide from ammonia synthesis gas by using
aqueous ethanolamine solution or carbonate-bicarbonate solution.
The most common and widely used method for separating a liquid mixture is distillation.
In distillation, separation is achieved by taking advantage of the differences in volatilities of the
components.
The saturated vapour and the boiling liquid are brought into intimate contact within the column so that the
more volatile component passes from liquid phase to vapour phase and removed by condensation.
The less volatile component, on the other hand, passes from the vapour phase to the liquid phase and is
removed as bottoms.

Gas–Solid Contact
Two important applications of gas-solid contact are drying and adsorption.
If a solid moistened with a volatile liquid is exposed to a relatively dry gas, the liquid often vaporises and
diffuses into the gas, this operation is called drying.
In drying, the liquid in majority of cases is water, the drying gas being air.
Drying of wet filter cakes, fruits, ceramic articles, etc. are some common examples of drying.
In drying, diffusion is from solid to gas. In adsorption, on the other hand, diffusion is in the opposite
direction, i.e. from gas to solid.
Adsorption as a surface phenomena in which adsorbate accumulate over the adsorbent.

Liquid–Liquid Contact
If the constituents of a liquid solution are separated by bringing the solution into intimate contact with
another liquid, then the operation is called liquid-liquid extraction or simply liquid extraction.
In liquid-liquid extraction, the added solvent acts as the separating agent.

Liquid–Solid Contact
The important operations in this category are leaching, crystallization and adsorption.
The selective dissolution of one or more component(s) from a solid mixture by a liquid solvent is known as
leaching.
Example- leaching of gold from its ore by cyanide solution, the extraction of cotton seed oil from the seeds
by hexane.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar

 MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)
Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction
When transfer is from liquid to solid with one of the components at equilibrium in both the phases, the
operation is known as crystallization.

2. Phases Separated by Membrane

Membrane processes are finding wide applications in water treatment.

The development of separation processes with reduced energy consumption and minimal environmental
impact is critical for sustainable operations.

Membranes, in general, prevent intermingling of two miscible phases and separate the components by
selectively allowing some of them to pass from one side to the other.

In permeation, a gas or liquid solution is brought into contact with a nonporous membrane in which one of
the components is preferentially dissolved.
After diffusing to the other side of the membrane, the component is vaporised into the gas phase.

The separation of a crystalline substance from a colloid by bringing their mixture in contact with a solvent
with an intervening membrane permeable only to the solvent, and the dissolved crystalline solute is known
as dialysis.

If an electromotive force is applied across the membrane to assist diffusion of charged particles, the
operation is termed electrodialysis.

The solute and solvent of a solution can be separated by superimposing a pressure to oppose the osmotic
pressure of the solvent and to reverse its flow.

3. Direct Contact of Miscible Phases

The separation of components of a single fluid through the creation of a concentration gradient within
the fluid by imposing a temperature gradient in the fluid is known as thermal diffusion.

When a condensable vapour like steam is allowed to diffuse through a gas mixture to preferentially remove
one of the components along with it, thus making separation possible, it is called sweep diffusion.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar

 MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)
Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction
CHOICE OF SEPARATION METHOD

 The chemical engineer faced with the problem of separating the components of a solution must
ordinarily choose from several possible methods.
 While the choice is usually limited by the peculiar physical characteristics of the materials to be
handled, the necessity for making a decision nevertheless almost always exists.
 Until the fundamentals of the various operations have been clearly understood, of course, no basis
for such a decision is available, but it is well at least to establish the nature of the alternatives at the
beginning.
 One can sometimes choose between using a mass-transfer operation of the sort discussed in this
book and a purely mechanical separation method.
 For example, in the separation of a desired mineral from its ore, it may be possible to use either the
mass-transfer operation of leaching with a solvent or the purely mechanical methods of flotation.
 Vegetable oils can be separated from the seeds in which they occur by expression or by leaching
with a solvent.
 A vapor can be removed from a mixture with a permanent gas by the mechanical operation of
compression or by the mass-transfer operations of gas absorption or adsorption.
 Sometimes both mechanical and mass-transfer operations are used especially where the former are
incomplete as in processes for recovering vegetable oils wherein expression is followed by
leaching.
 It is characteristic that at the end of the operation the substance removed by mechanical methods is
pure, while if removed by diffusional methods it is associated with another substance.
 One can also frequently choose between a purely mass-transfer operation and a chemical reaction or
a combination of both.
 Chemical methods ordinarily destroy the substance removed, while mass transfer methods usually
permit its eventual recovery in unaltered form without great difficulty.

There are also choices to be made within the mass-transfer operations-

 For example. a gaseous mixture of oxygen and nitrogen may be separated by preferential adsorption
of the oxygen on activated carbon, by adsorption, by distillation, or by gaseous effusion.
 A liquid solution of acetic acid may be separated by distillation, by liquid extraction with a suitable
solvent, or by adsorption with a suitable adsorbent.
 The principal basis for choice in any case is cost: that method which costs the least is usually the
one to be used.
 The simplest operation, while it may not be the least costly, is sometimes desired because it will be
trouble-free.
 Sometimes a method will be rejected because of imperfect knowledge of design methods or
unavailability of data for design, so that results cannot be guaranteed.
 Favorable previous experience with one method may be given strong consideration.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar

 MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)
Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction

METHODS OF CONDUCTING THE MASS-TRANSFER

OPERATIONS-
Several characteristics of these operations influence our method of dealing with them and are described in
terms which require definition at the start.

Unsteady State Operation

It is characteristic of unsteady-state operation that concentrations at any point in the apparatus change with
time.

Steady-State Operation
It is characteristic of steady-state operation that concentrations at any position in the apparatus remain
constant with passage of time.

Continuous-Contact (Differential-Contact) Operation

In this case the phases flow through the equipment in continuous, ultimate contact throughout, without
repeated physical separation and recontacting.

Batch wise-
In this case the phases flow through the equipment in batches.
Main objective is to get required quality of product.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES-

There are four major factors to be established in the design of any plant involving the diffusional
operations: the number of equilibrium stages or their equivalent, the time of phase contact required, the
permissible rate of flow, and the energy requirements.

Number of Equilibrium Stages

In order to determine the number of equilibrium stages required in a cascade to bring about a specified
degree of separation, or the equivalent quantity for a continuous-contact device, the equilibrium
characteristics of the system and material-balance calculations are required.

Time Requirement

In stagewise operations the time of contact is intimately connected with stage efficiency, whereas for
continuous·contact equipment the time leads ultimately to the volume or length of the required device. The
factors, which help establish the time, are several. Material balances permit calculation of the relative
quantities required of the various phases.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar

 MASS TRANSFER OPERATION-I (2150501)
Semester – V (CHEM)
CHAPTER: 1
Chapter Name: Introduction
The equilibrium characteristics of the system establish the ultimate concentrations possible, and the rate of
transfer of material between phases depends upon the departure from equilibrium, which is maintained.
The rate of transfer additionally depends upon the physical properties of the phases as well as the flow
regime within the equipment.
It is important to recognize that, for a given degree of intimacy of contact of the phases, the time of contact
required is independent of the total quantity of the phases to be processed.

Permissible Flow Rate

This factor enters into consideration of semi batch and steady-state operations where it leads to the
determination of the cross-sectional area of the equipment
Considerations of fluid dynamics establish the permissible flow rate, and material balances determine the
absolute quantity of each of the streams required.

Energy Requirements
Heat and mechanical energies are ordinarily required to carry out the diffusional operations.
Heat is necessary for the production of any temperature changes, for the creation of new phases (such as
vaporization of a liquid), and for overcoming heat-of-solution effects.
Mechanical energy is required for fluid and solid transport, for .dispersing liquids and gases, and for
operating moving parts of machinery.

Prepared By: Mr. Dhiraj Tatar