Issue 29, 2018

Quantifying vapor transfer into evaporating ethanol drops in a humid atmosphere

Abstract

The effect of ambient temperature and relative humidity on the dynamics of ethanol drop evaporation is investigated. Although drop evaporation of mixtures and pure fluids has been extensively studied, very little is known about the transition from a pure fluid to a binary mixture following transfer of a second component present in the atmosphere. This is of importance for industrial, biological and medical applications where the purity of the solvent is paramount. Adsorption–absorption and/or condensation of water into ethanol drops during evaporation is presented through direct quantification of the drop composition in time. In particular, we combine drop profile measurements with Gas Injection Chromatography (GIC) to directly quantify the amount of ethanol evaporated and that of water intake over time. As expected, drops evaporate faster at higher temperatures since both the ethanol saturation concentration and the vapor diffusion coefficient are directly proportional to temperature. On the other hand, increases in the ethanol evaporation rate and in the water intake are observed at higher relative humidity. The increase in ethanol evaporation at higher relative humidity is interpreted by the greater diffusion coefficient of ethanol into humid air when compared to dry air. Moreover, as ethanol evaporates in a high humidity environment, the drop interfacial temperature falls below the dew point due to evaporative cooling and water condenses compared to lower humidity conditions. As a consequence of the heat released by adsorption–absorption and/or condensation, a greater temperature is reported at the liquid–vapor interface as confirmed by IR thermography, inducing a greater ethanol saturation concentration at the surface and hence a greater driving force for evaporation. By coupling the drop profile and the composition of ethanol and water within the drop, we propose a combined evaporation–adsorption/absorption and/or condensation empirical correlation. The proposed correlation accounts for: the decreases in ethanol concentration due to water adsorption–absorption and/or condensation, the diffusion coefficient dependence on relative humidity, and the amount of water intake during evaporation. The proposed empirical correlation agrees remarkably well with experimental observations.

Graphical abstract: Quantifying vapor transfer into evaporating ethanol drops in a humid atmosphere

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Apr 2018
Accepted
28 Jun 2018
First published
28 Jun 2018

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018,20, 19430-19440

Author version available

Quantifying vapor transfer into evaporating ethanol drops in a humid atmosphere

Y. Kita, Y. Okauchi, Y. Fukatani, D. Orejon, M. Kohno, Y. Takata and K. Sefiane, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 19430 DOI: 10.1039/C8CP02521E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements