Volumetric vs molar flow rate of gases

2025-08-02

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is people mistaking molar flow rates for volumetric flow rates. For example, say we have a flow rate of 10 Nm3/s10\ Nm^3/s. This is not the same as a flow rate of 10 m3/s10\ m^3/s. The first is a molar flow rate, whereas the second is a volumetric flow rate. To see why, let's make some definitions. The volumetric flow rate of a fluid is related to the molar flow rate by:

Q=nMrρQ=\frac{nMr}{\rho}

Where ρ\rho is the fluid density, nn is the molar flow rate, and MrMr is the fluid's molar mass.
Incompressible fluids (most liquids) have constant density; however, for compressible fluids (gases), the density depends on the pressure and temperature. For an ideal gas, the relationship is the well-known ideal gas law:

PV=nRTPV=nRT

or

PV=(m/Mr)RTPV=(m/Mr)RT

Which can be rearranged to give density:

ρ=PMrRT\rho = \frac{PMr}{RT}

Substituting this into the molar flow rate equation:

Q=nMrRTPMrQ=nMr\frac{RT}{PMr}

Simplifying down to:

Q=nRTPQ=\frac{nRT}{P}

Notice the above equation is independent of MrMr and is therefore independent of the fluid composition. That means this equation holds for any gas. Now back to what the NN in front of Nm3/sNm^3/s means. This refers to the normal conditions defined as T=273.15KT=273.15 K and P=101325PaP = 101325 Pa.

Now, looking back at the equation we defined, if PP, RR and TT are constant, then we have: Q=0.0224nQ=0.0224n. In other words, the volumetric flow rate defined at a set of standard conditions is equivalent to a molar flow rate.

© 2025 Sam Affleck. All rights reserved.

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