Mass transfer finds extensive application in chemical engineering problems. It is used in reaction engineering, separations engineering, heat transfer engineering, and many other sub-disciplines of chemical engineering like electrochemical engineering.
The driving force for mass transfer is usually a difference in chemical potential, when it can be defined, though other thermodynamic gradients may couple to the flow of mass and drive it as well. A chemical species moves from areas of high chemical potential to areas of low chemical potential. Thus, the maximum theoretical extent of a given mass transfer is typically determined by the point at which the chemical potential is uniform. For single phase-systems, this usually translates to uniform concentration throughout the phase, while for multiphase systems chemical species will often prefer one phase over the others and reach a uniform chemical potential only when most of the chemical species has been absorbed into the preferred phase, as in liquid-liquid extraction.
While thermodynamic equilibrium determines the theoretical extent of a given mass transfer operation, the actual rate of mass transfer will depend on additional factors including the flow patterns within the system and the diffusivities of the species in each phase. This rate can be quantified through the calculation and application of mass transfer coefficients for an overall process. These mass transfer coefficients are typically published in terms of dimensionless numbers, often including Péclet numbers, Reynolds numbers, Sherwood numbers, and Schmidt numbers, among others.