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A gas mixture of constant composition 5.0 mole% CO2 and 95 mole% air flows around a porous, spherical particle of diameter 3.0 cm that initially only contains only air (no CO2) within the gas space of the pores of the particle. At the process conditions of interest (30 .C, 1.0 atm), the binary diffusion coefficient of CO2 in air (DAB) is 0.159 cm2/s, and the effective diffusion coefficient (DAe) of CO2 inside the porous particle ( = 0.3) is 0.0143 cm2/s. a) What is the mole fraction of CO2 in the center of the spherical particle after 30 s? b) How long will it take for the center of the spherical particle to have a composition of 4.8 mole% CO2, assuming that the bulk gas CO2 composition equals the CO2 composition at the outer surface of the particle? c) If the particle diameter is doubled to 6.0 cm, what is the new time required to achieve a composition of 4.8 mole% CO2 in the center of particle?

User Jeff Maner
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To solve this problem, we can use Fick's law of diffusion and a differential equation to find the mole fraction of CO2 at the center of the spherical particle after a certain time, and the time it takes for the center to have a specific mole fraction. By doubling the diameter of the particle, we can calculate the new time required to achieve the desired mole fraction.

To solve part a of this problem, we can use Fick's law of diffusion. The equation is given by:

J = -D × ∇C

Where J is the diffusion flux, D is the diffusion coefficient, and ∇C is the concentration gradient. Since we are interested in the center of the spherical particle, we assume that the concentration gradient is constant. Therefore, the diffusion flux J is given by:

J = -D × (C2 - C1) / r

Where C1 is the concentration of CO2 at the outer surface of the particle and C2 is the concentration of CO2 at the center of the particle. Plugging in the values given in the problem, we can solve for C2.

To solve part b of this problem, we can use a similar approach as part a. We know that the mole fraction of CO2 at the outer surface of the particle is 5.0 mole%. We want to find the time it takes for the mole fraction at the center of the particle to reach 4.8 mole%. We can set up a differential equation using Fick's law of diffusion:

D × d²C / dr² = dC / dt

Where dC / dt is the rate of change of the mole fraction with respect to time. We can solve this differential equation using appropriate boundary conditions to find the time it takes for the mole fraction to reach 4.8 mole% at the center of the particle.

To solve part c of this problem, we can use the same approach as part b. The only difference is that the diameter of the particle is doubled, which will affect the diffusion coefficient. We can use the new diameter and the given diffusion coefficients to calculate the new diffusion coefficient, and then solve the differential equation to find the new time required.

User Tim Groeneveld
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