Biophysical Journal 12: 1391-1404 (1972)
© 1972 the Biophysical Society

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Mass Transfer from Gas Bubbles to Impinging Flow of Biological Fluids with Chemical Reaction

ABSTRACT

The rates of mass transfer from a gas bubble to an impinging flow of a biological fluid such as whole blood and plasma are investigated analytically and experimentally. Gases commonly found dissolved in body fluids are included. Consideration is given to the effects of the chemical reaction between the dissolved gas and the liquid on the rate of mass transfer. Through the application of boundary layer theory the over-all transfer is found to be Sh/(Re)^1/2 = 0.845 Sc^1/3 in the absence of chemical reaction, and Sh/(Re) ^1/2 = F' (0) in the presence of chemical reaction, where Sh, Re, and Sc are the Sherwood, Reynolds, and Schmidt numbers, respectively, and F' (0) is a function of Sc and the dimensionless reaction rate constant. Analytical results are also obtained for the bubble lifetime and the bubble radius-time history. These results, which are not incompatible with experimental results, can be applied to predict the dissolution of the entrapped gas emboli in the circulatory system of the human body.