Course Code: CHE331

Course Title: Mass Transfer Operations

Credit Hours: 3(3, 0)
Pre-requisite(s):
Course Objectives:
To inculcate the fundamentals of mass transfer and design, application and evaluation of mass transfer
equipment.
Course Contents:
A brief introduction of mass transfer theories. Diffusion through gases and liquids. Fick’s law.
Calculations involving mass transfer coefficients of liquid and gas phase. Absorption: Design, evaluation
and selection of gas absorption equipment; Packed and plate columns, vessels with agitators, centrifugal
absorber and Spray towers. Chemisorption. Liquid-Liquid extraction: Introduction of extraction
processes. Classification of extraction equipment, Stage-wise and Differential contacts. Development and
utilization of equilibrium data. Calculation of the number of theoretical stages for various cases of
countercurrent and co-current operations. Leaching: Fundamentals of mass transfer in leaching,
Equipment for leaching. Calculation of the number of stages; by graphical methods, for Batch Process
counter current washing with variable underflow. Crystallization: Growth and properties of crystals,
saturation and nucleation, crystallization rate, impurities, effect of Temperature on solubility. Solubility
and phase diagram, fractional crystallization. Crystallizers; principles of construction and operations. Ion
exchange: Ion Exchange Resins, Equilibrium and kinetics; Ion exclusion/ retardation. Ion exchange
equipment. Filtration and Sedimentation: Filtration Theory (7.2); Fluid flow through the cake and
combination of cloth and cake (7.2.4). Filtration Practices (7.3); Filtration equipment and calculation
(7.4). Sedimentation of Particles (Chapter 5): Theory of sedimentation, Flocculation, Solid flux in
batch sedimentation and comparison of sedimentation with flow through fixed beds. Thickeners.
Selection of mass transfer equipment.
Recommended Books:

1. McCabe Warren L., Smith Julian C., Harriott Peter “Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering” 7th
Ed. 2005. McGraw-Hill Inc.
2. Coulson J.M., Richardson J. F. “Chemical Engineering” Vol-II, 5th Ed. 2002. The English Book
Society and Pergamon Press.
3. Incropera Frank P., De Witt David P. “Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer” 3rd Ed. 1990.
John Wiley and Sons.
4. Treybal Robert E. “Mass Transfer Operations”, 1981, McGraw-Hill Book Company.
5. Schweitzer, “Handbook of Separation Techniques for Chemical Engineers”, 1979, McGraw-Hill
Book Co.
6. Coulson J. M., Richardson J. F. “Chemical Engineering” Vol-I, 1999. The English Book Society
and Pergamon Press
7. Alan S. Foust, Leonard A. Wenzel “Principles of Unit Operations” 2nd Ed.1980. John Wiley &
 Sons.
8. Diran Basmadjian. “Mass Transfer and Separation Process (Principles and Applications) CRC Press
Taylor and Francis Group. 2007