Abstract
Rates of mass transfer in a spiral coil were measured by a technique involving the diffusion-controlled dissolution of copper in acidified dichromate. The variables studied were solution velocity, spiral tube pitch, and physical properties of the solution. The data were correlated by the equation
For a given set of conditions, the mass transfer coefficient predicted from the above equation was found to be much higher than that of the straight tube. Comparison of the ratio between the mass transfer coefficient and pressure drop for spiral tubes and straight tubes has revealed that
for spiral tubes is much higher than that of a straight tube under the present range of conditions. The possibility of using the above equation in predicting the rate of diffusion-controlled corrosion and the corrosion allowance needed to design a spiral tube heat exchanger was noted. Other possible applications in heterogeneous reactor design and membrane processes are reported.