Observation Of A Diffusion Process Of Protein Solution In Microgravity Environment
- Paper number
IAC-07-A2.3.06
- Author
Ms. Li Duan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Mass transfer associated with diffusion takes place when the distribution of composition concentration in a solution is uneven. In normal gravity, however, the mass transfer due to diffusion is usually accompanied by mass transfer caused by convection and sedimentation. The diffusion coefficient of binary solutions is an important parameter in modeling studies of protein crystal growth. However, it is difficult to accurately measure it with ground experiments because of the influence of convection and sedimentation caused by gravity. This situation impels scientists to conduct experiments on the diffusion coefficient of binary solutions in a microgravity environment to eliminate the effect of sedimentation and convection. One is a space flight experiment "The Dynamics of Miscible Interfaces: A Space Flight Experiment", which is financed by NASA. Another is "Diffusion and Soret Coefficients Measurement for Improvement of Oil Recovery", which is belong to “Microgravity application promotion” financed by ESA. In this study, a specially designed March-Zehnder interferometer was used to monitor the mass transfer process of a water droplet in EAFP protein solution under both normal gravity and microgravity condition provided by the No. 8 Shi Jian satellite. A series of the evolution charts of mass distribution during the diffusion process of the liquid droplet are presented and the relevant diffusion coefficient is determined. We also compared the experiment under microgravity with those under the normal gravity to demonstrate the significant influence of gravity on the mass transfer process for a liquid droplet. Keywords: mass transfer, diffusion, M-Z interferometer.
Co-authors:
Q. Kang Z. W. Sun H. L. Cui L. Hu L. J. Li G.P.Li
National Microgravity Laboratory/CAS; Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Beijing 100080, China.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-A2.3.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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