Any process that adds the species of interest to or removes it from the flowing fluid may cause the Stefan flow, but the most common processes include evaporation, condensation, chemical reaction, sublimation, ablation, adsorption, absorption, and desorption.
It was named after the Slovenian physicist, mathematician, and poet Josef Stefan for his early work on calculating evaporation rates.
The total transport rate of the species is then given by a summation of the Stefan flow and diffusive contributions.
This gradient causes Fickian diffusion that transports the vapor away from the droplet and the air towards it, with respect to the mean flow.
The Stefan flow from evaporating droplets and subliming ice particles also plays prominently in meteorology as it influences the formation and dispersion of clouds and precipitation.