Beschreibung:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Marangoni‐induced surface flow may result in changes of interfacial area under conditions where the depth of penetration of surface flow is comparable in magnitude to the thickness of the liquid layer. Starting from considerations of mass transfer out of and into volumes of variable capacity, conditions are established for the appearance of surface tension gradients leading to contraction or rupture of thin liquid films. The established criteria are employed to discuss interfacial and interdrop coalescence, break‐up of liquid jets and stability of supported films. The resulting conclusions are applied to the analysis of behaviour of spray extraction columns and sieve‐plate distillation columns.</jats:p>