Mass transport in a porous microchannel for non-Newtonian fluid with electrokinetic effects

Quantification of mass transfer in porous microchannel is of paramount importance in several applications. Transport of neutral solute in presence of convective-diffusive EOF having non-Newtonian rheology, in a porous microchannel was presented in this article. The governing mass transfer equation coupled with velocity field was solved along with associated boundary conditions using a similarity solution method. An analytical solution of mass transfer coefficient and hence, Sherwood number were derived from first principles. The corresponding effects of assisting and opposing pressure-driven flow and EOF were also analyzed. The influence of wall permeation, double-layer thickness, rheology, etc. on the mass transfer was also investigated. Permeation at the wall enhanced the mass transfer coefficient more than five times compared to impervious conduit in case of pressure-driven flow assisting the EOF at higher values of κh. Shear thinning fluid exhibited more enhancement of Sherwood number in presence of permeation compared to shear thickening one. The phenomenon of stagnation was observed at a particular κh (∼2.5) in case of EOF opposing the pressure-driven flow. This study provided a direct quantification of transport of a neutral solute in case of transdermal drug delivery, transport of drugs from blood to target region, etc.