Diffusion Flux (diffusion + flux)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Small-scale fluid motion mediates growth and nutrient uptake of Selenastrum capricornutum

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2006
T. A. WARNAARS
Summary 1. A fluid-flow reactor using submersible speakers was constructed to generate small-scale fluid motion similar to conditions measured in open water environments; flow was quantified by particle image velocimetry. Additionally a Couette-type rotating cylinder was used to generate shear flows; flow was quantified using an optical hotwire probe and torque measurements. Growth rates of the green alga Selenastrum capricornutum were determined from changes in cell counts and viability was tested using the fluorogenic probe fluoresceine diacetate. 2. Evidence that fluid motion directly affects growth rates was obtained as a significant difference between growth in a moving versus non-moving fluid. A near 2-fold increase in growth rate was achieved for an energy dissipation rate of , = 10,7 m2 s,3; a rate common in lakes and oceans. The onset of the viability equilibrium, identified as the day of the test period when the number of active cells equalled non-active cells, was delayed by 2 days for moving fluid conditions as compared with a non-moving fluid. 3. Nutrient uptake was determined by a decrease in the bulk fluid concentration and cellular phosphorus concentration was also estimated. The thickness of the diffusive sublayer surrounding a cell, a zone dominated by molecular diffusion, was estimated. Increasing fluid motion was found to decrease the thickness of this layer. The Sherwood number (ratio of total mass flux to molecular mass flux) showed that advective flux surrounding cells dominated molecular diffusion flux with regard to Péclet numbers (ratio of advective transport to molecular diffusion transport). Fluid motion facilitated uptake rates and resulted in increased growth rates, compared with no-flow conditions. The rate-of-rotation and the rate-of-strain in a moving fluid equally mediated the diffusive sublayer thickness surrounding the cells. Our study demonstrates that small-scale fluid motion mediates algal growth kinetics and therefore should be included in predictive models for algal blooms. [source]


Unified model for nonideal multicomponent molecular diffusion coefficients

AICHE JOURNAL, Issue 11 2007
Alana Leahy-Dios
Abstract Multicomponent diffusion is important in a variety of applications. In order to calculate diffusion flux, molecular diffusion coefficients are required, where fluid nonideality and the multicomponent nature of the mixture have a significant effect. A unified model for the calculation of diffusion coefficients of gas, liquid and supercritical states of nonpolar multicomponent mixtures is presented. A new correlation is proposed for the binary infinite dilution-diffusion coefficients. The generalized Vignes relation is used in multicomponent mixtures. Nonideality is rigorously described by the fugacity derivatives evaluated by the volume-translated Peng-Robinson equation of state. Predictions for highly nonideal gas and liquid multicomponent mixtures demonstrate the reliability of the proposed methodology. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2007 [source]


Effective Diffusivities and Convective Coefficients for CaO-CaSO4 and CaO-CaCl2 Pellets

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 1 2004
C. Akosman
Abstract Diffusion and convective flow in the pores of pellets formed by compressing mixtures of calcined limestone and CaSO4/CaCl2 powders have been studied experimentally by using the single pellet moment technique. The experiments were conducted in a diffusion cell by flowing nitrogen gas (carrier) through both faces of the pellet. Limestone powder was calcined in an atmosphere of N2 at 800,°C and mixed with CaSO4/CaCl2 for diffusion experiments. Effective diffusivity of helium has been estimated by exposing the upper face of the pellet to a pulse of and matching the response peak on the lower face of the pellet with theoretical expressions. The values of the effective diffusivities increased with temperature, but decreased with increasing CaSO4/CaCl2 content in the pellet. The convective flow contribution to the diffusion flux was found to increase with increasing pressure drop across the pellet. [source]


Consideration of the Effect of Irregular Catalytic Active Component Distributions in Mesopores , Extension of a Model for Wall Catalyzed Reactions in Microchannel Reactors

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 7 2003
B. Platzer
Abstract Data available from the literature and experimental results have shown that the distribution of the catalytic active components can be irregular already for fresh catalysts. The determination of the local concentrations of the catalytic active components using wavelength dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirms this for microstructured wafers used in microchannel reactors. Considering this nonuniform distribution, the used model gives the relation between the local concentration profiles of the reactants inside the pores and the product yield in the entire pore. These results were used in an equation for the diffusion flux at the pore mouth, which is useful for a microchannel model developed in a recent paper [1]. The theoretical considerations deal with cylindrical pores with known reactant concentrations at the pore mouth and known distribution of the catalytic active component within the pore. Beside numerical results, some analytical solutions with low mathematical expense, applicable to special cases, are discussed. The nonconsideration of the irregular distribution of the catalytic active component can be the reason for difficulties during the extrapolation of experimental results to slightly different conditions and can have a great influence on the reaction results. The regarded examples are typical of wall-catalyzed reactions in microchannel reactors with mesopores. [source]


A Simple Index to Restrain Abnormal Protrusions in Films Fabricated Using CVD under Diffusion-Limited Conditions,

CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION, Issue 4 2004
Y. Kajikawa
Abstract Cauliflower-like protrusions formed in CVD processes under diffusion-limited conditions have been studied both experimentally and theoretically. Both approaches indicate that the difference in diffusion fluxes to the film and to the protrusions controls the growth of such protrusions. However, direct comparisons of these two approaches have never been done, probably due to the complexity of the theoretical models. To simplify model protrusion growth, we developed a one-dimensional (1D) analytical model by hypothesizing the diffusion of growth species in the boundary layer above a growing film. Based on this model, we propose a non-dimensional quantity, ksf/D, as an index of protrusion growth (D is the diffusion coefficient of the growth species, ks is the surface reaction-rate coefficient, and f is film thickness). This index represents more directly the protrusion growth than does the previously proposed index, the Damköhler number, Da,=,ks,/D, where , is boundary layer thickness. To obtain smooth, protrusion-free films, D/ks should be kept larger than the desired film thickness. By controlling the process conditions to satisfy this index, we successfully fabricated protrusion-free films with SiC deposition from dichlorodimethylsilane (DDS). [source]