ChE Tulsa University

ChE 3084 Mass Transfer
Required course for ChE program

Catalog Description:   Diffusion, convective and interfacial mass transfer, and its application to continuous contact operations. Design of equilibrium-stage separation processes including distillation, gas-liquid absorption and stripping, liquid-liquid extraction, and humidification. Introduction to process simulation (HYSYS).

Co-requisites: none

Prerequisites: ChE 3063 (Equilibrium Thermodynamics), ChE 2003 (Stoichiometry).

Prerequisites by Topic:  Equilibrium Thermodynamics: vapor-liquid equilibrium for ideal systems (e.g., Raoult’s and Henry’s laws) and non-ideal systems, calculation of vapor pressure, enthalpy changes, and enthalpy of vaporization.  Stoichiometry: Mass and energy balances, lever principles, psychrometric chart use.

Recent Textbook:  C. J. Geankoplis, “Transport Processes and Separation Process Principles”, Prentice-Hall, 4th Edition, 2003, ISBN 0-13-101367-X

Other Required Material:   None

Course Objectives:   By the end of the course, students will: (1) be able to describe and differentiate between the operation of distillation and gas absorption columns, and humidification (esp. cooling towers) and liquid-liquid extraction equipment;(2) be able to apply the basic principles of the mass transfer of diffusion and convection , and analyze a packed tower based on equivalent height of an equilibrium stage using mass transfer coefficients; (3) be able to analyze distillation column operation using McCabe-Thiele diagrams, and apply enthalpy and heat transfer  principles to distillation column design; (4) be able to rate and design distillation and gas absorption columns using the design software HYSYS;  (5) be able to calculate the required number of equilibrium stages for gas absorption and distillation systems, and can use a psychrometric chart for designing air-water cooling and humidification systems; and (6) have incorporated writing skills, computer skills and a knowledge of safety and ethical concerns throughout the course.

Major Topics Covered in the Course :   Fick’s law, use  of diffusivity functions mass transfer coefficients, principles of stage processes, gas absorption and stripping, humidification, distillation using McCabe-Thiele methods, extraction, overview of other mass transfer and separation operations

Class/Laboratory Schedule: Lecture meets for four 50-minute sessions each week for 14 weeks. HYSYS computer laboratory sessions are held to assist the student’s in learning about absorption and distillation column performance.

Professional Component Contribution:  This course applies stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena to engineering applications of mass transfer and staged operations.  Computer skills are extended in this course to numerical solution of separation problems, including graphical representation of equilibrium and operating curves, and ideal stages.   A minimum of one design problem is assigned in this course.  Throughout the course, safety and ethics are briefly emphasized. 

Relationship to Program Outcomes:

• Outcome a:  The course requires use of introductory linear algebra to solve separation problems.   Excel and HYSYS programming are extended to separation problems. Problems in this course build on a background of stoichiometry, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena.
• Outcome b:   Some homework problems require use and interpretation of experimental data.
• Outcome c:  Students execute a separations strategy [using both distillation and absorption processes] to satisfying a specific set of constraints based on desired compositional products.  
• Outcome d:  The design problem is done as a team.  All students in the course are chemical engineering majors.
• Outcome e:  Homework problems are assigned each week so that students will develop the necessary problem solving skills. Excel and HYSYS programming are emphasized.
• Outcome f:  There is some emphasis in this course on ethical and safety concerns with respect to the handing and design of chemical systems.
• Outcome g:  In addition to the communication skills required to function on a team and successfully write an exam, students are required to write a proper memorandum summarizing their design problem results.
• Outcome h: Economically important chemical systems are offered as lecture discussion examples and in homework problems.
• Outcome i:  It is emphasized to students what they are using in design packages [such as HYSYS] as opposed to other more transparent homework problems performed with  Excel.  The students gain an appreciation for what must be provided and used in complex [non-isothermal] mass transfer problems of a separations nature.
• Outcome j:   The state of the art in design packages [like what might be used in an industrial setting] is emphasized, beyond what is offered in the text(s).
• Outcome k:  Students are required to use computers to solve homework problems throughout the course, particularly in Excel and HYSYS. Hand calculations are strongly discouraged by the instructor.

Prepared by:  Kraemer Luks (July 8, 2005)