Consider the problem of oxygen transfer from the interior lung cavity, across the lung tissue, to the network of blood vessels on the opposite side. The lung tissue (species B) may be approximated as a plane wall of thickness L. The inhalation process may be assumed to maintain a constant molar concentration CA(0) of oxygen (species A) in the tissue at its inner surface (x = 0), and assimilation of oxygen by the blood may be assumed to maintain a constant molar concentration CA(L) of oxygen in the tissue at its outer surface (x = L). There is oxygen consumption in the tissue due to metabolic processes, and the reaction is zero order, with N_A=-k_0.
Obtain expressions for the distribution of the oxygen concentration in the tissue and for the rate of assimilation of oxygen by the blood per unit tissue surface area.