Evaluation of mass transfer resistance across the interface for CO2–propylene carbonate system: experimental and mathematical modeling

Publication date: September 2019Source: Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Volume 149Author(s): Shima AziziAbstractIn this work, solubility and diffusivity of CO2 in propylene carbonate have been experimentally obtained using the pressure decay method. Pressure decay data were produced at three different temperatures of 276.15, 298.15, and 328.15 K, and different initial pressures. The tests were conducted with and without mechanical stirrer to obtain solubility and diffusivity, respectively. The solubility data showed that CO2–propylene carbonate system properly obeys the Henry’s law. To evaluate the diffusivity, two different mathematical models according to the types of boundary condition at the interface were established and a novel finite difference-assisted algorithm was developed to solve the parabolic equations. The molecular diffusivity was then obtained as a tuning parameter by comparing the results of mathematical model and the experimental pressure decay data. Results showed that for the system of CO2–propylene carbonate, the performance of both mathematical models were nearly the same, hence, the mole fractions at the interface properly obey the equilibrium curve. Therefore, it was concluded that the mass transfer resistance across the interface was negligible. It was proved that the proposed numerical algorithm produced an unconditionally stable solution. Furthermore, it was shown that the diffusivity increased with increasing temperature and d...

Source: Chemical Engineering Research and Design - July 19, 2019 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research