Critical behavior and partial miscibility phenomena in binary mixtures of hydrocarbons by the statistical associating fluid theory

Bulk phase behavior and interfacial properties of binary mixtures of Lennard-Jones chains and solvent: a density functional theory study

A Density Functional Theory study is performed to analyze both bulk and interfacial properties of solvent-polymer binary mixtures. The effects of increasing polymer chain length on the bulk phase diagram morphology and interfacial tension are presented and compared to the prior simulation results. Good agreement between simulation and Density Functional Theory is found, including its ability to reproduce the density inversion phenomenon for highly asymmetric solvent-polymer binary mixtures. The data on the interfacial tensions is used to compute contact angles of the mixture at a planar wall, with particular focus on the wetting transition. The dependence of the wetting temperature on the polymer chain length and the mixture composition is analyzed in detail.

Lattice Boltzmann method for diffusion-limited partial dissolution of fluids

A lattice Boltzmann model for two partially miscible fluids is developed. By partially miscible we mean that, although there is a definite interfacial region separating the two fluids with a surface tension force acting at all points of the transition region, each fluid can nonetheless accept molecules from the other fluid up to a set solubility limit. We allow each fluid to diffuse into the other with the solubility and diffusivity in each fluid being input parameters. The approach is to define two regions within the fluid: one interfacial region having finite width, across which most of the concentration change occurs, and in which a surface tension force and color separation step are allowed for and one miscible fluid region where the concentration of the binary fluids follows an advection-diffusion equation and the mixture as a whole obeys the Navier-Stokes incompressible flow equations. Numerical examples are presented in which the algorithm produces results that are quantitatively compared to exact analytical results as well as qualitatively examined for their reasonableness. The model has the ability to simulate how bubbles of one fluid flow through another while dissolving their contents as well as to simulate a range of practical invasion problems such as injecting supercritical CO(2) into a porous material saturated with water for sequestration purposes.

Vapor−Liquid and Critical Behavior of Binary Systems of Hydrogen Chloride and n-Alkanes: Experimental Data and Soft-SAFT Modeling

The purpose of this work is to check the capability of the crossover soft-SAFT equation of state to predict the phase behavior of hydrogen chloride/n-alkane mixtures based on experimental data. The hydrogen chloride parameters were optimized using the experimental information, while the parameters for the n-alkanes were obtained from published correlations to the molecular weight of the compounds. We have found that a unique binary parameter with a constant value for the whole family provides an excellent description of the behavior of hydrogen chloride + propane and hydrogen chloride + dodecane mixtures in a broad range of temperatures and pressures, as well as the critical line of the mixture. The model confirms that HCl + propane exhibits type-I critical behavior, while HCl + dodecane shows a type-II critical behavior. Taking advantage of the transferability of the parameters, the critical transition from type-II to type-III has been investigated with the equation in a predictive manner. Although results are very sensitive to the binary parameter value, there are indications to assert that type-III is achieved close to the HCl + heneicosane binary system.

Prediction of Thermodynamic Derivative Properties of Pure Fluids through the Soft-SAFT Equation of State

We present in this work the application of the soft-SAFT equation of state (EoS) to the calculation of some main derivative properties, including heat capacities, reduced bulk modulus, Joule-Thomson coefficient, and speed of sound. Calculations have been performed analytically through the derivation of a primary thermodynamic potential function. The application to the n-alkanes, n-alkenes, and 1-alkanols families has been done in a semipredictive manner, with the molecular parameters of the equation obtained from previous fitting to vapor-liquid equilibrium data of the same compounds. The equation is able to capture the typical extrema isothermal derivative properties exhibit with respect to density, providing quantitative agreement with experimental (or correlation) data in some cases. Results in the vicinity of the critical point are improved by adding a crossover treatment to take into account the long-range fluctuations present in this region. By taking advantage of the molecular nature of the equation, we have been able to separate and quantify the different contributions (reference fluid, chain, and association) to the total derivative properties. The association plays a predominant role in energetic properties, such as the heat capacities, while there is a competition between association and chain length as the chain length of the compound increases for volumetric properties, such as the isothermal compressibility. These results act in favor of the molecular-based equations, like soft-SAFT, as predictive tools for several applications.

Global Fluid Phase Equilibria and Critical Phenomena of Selected Mixtures Using the Crossover Soft-SAFT Equation

We present here the extension of the crossover soft-statistical associating fluid theory (soft-SAFT) equation of state to mixtures, as well as some illustrative applications of the methodology to mixtures of particular scientific and technological interest. The procedure is based on White's work (White, J. A. Fluid Phase Equilib. 1992, 75, 53) from the renormalization group theory, as for the pure fluids, with the isomorphism assumption applied to the mixtures. The equation is applied to three groups of mixtures: selected mixtures of n-alkanes, the CO2/n-alkane homologous series, and the CO2/1-alkanol homologous series. The crossover equation is first applied to the pure components of the mixtures, CO2 and the 1-alkanol family, while an available correlation is used for the molecular parameters of the n-alkane series (Llovell et al. J. Chem. Phys 2004, 121, 10715). A set of transferable molecular parameters is provided for the 1-alkanols series; these are accurate for the whole range of thermodynamic conditions. The crossover soft-SAFT equation is able to accurately describe these compounds near to and far from the critical point. The theory is then used to represent the phase behavior and the critical phenomena of the selected mixtures. We use binary interaction parameters xi and eta for dissimilar mixtures. These parameters are fitted at some particular conditions (one subcritical temperature or binary critical data) and used to predict the behavior of the mixture at different conditions (other subcritical conditions and/or critical conditions). The equation is able to capture the continuous change in the critical behavior of the CO2/n-alkane and the CO2/1-alkanol homologous series as the chain length of the second compound increases. Excellent agreement with experimental data is obtained, even in the most nonideal cases. The new equation is proved to be a powerful tool to study the global phase behavior of complex systems, as well as other thermodynamic properties of very challenging mixtures.

Prediction of Global Vapor−Liquid Equilibria for Mixtures Containing Polar and Associating Components with Improved Renormalization Group Theory

Our recently improved renormalization group (RG) theory is further reformulated within the context of density functional theory. To improve the theory for polar and associating fluids, an explicit and complete expression of the theory is derived in which the density fluctuation is expanded up to the third-order term instead of the original second-order term. A new predictive equation of state based on the first-order mean spherical approximation statistical associating fluid theory (FMSA-SAFT) and the newly improved RG theory is proposed for systems containing polar and associating fluids. The calculated results for both pure fluids and mixtures are in good agreement with experimental data both inside and outside the critical region. This work demonstrates that the RG theory incorporated with the solution of FMSA is a promising route for accurately describing the global phase behavior of complex fluids and mixtures.

Examination of the Excess Thermodynamic Properties of n-Alkane Binary Mixtures: A Molecular Approach

A modification of the statistical associating fluid theory, the so-called Soft-SAFT equation of state, is proposed to predict the excess thermodynamic properties of binary mixtures of n-alkanes. n-Alkane molecules are modeled as fully flexible Lennard-Jones chains. This molecular model accounts for the most important microscopic features of real chainlike molecules: attractive and repulsive interactions between different chemical groups and the connectivity of the segments that form the molecules. In this work we consider an additional microscopic effect that can profoundly affect certain thermodynamic properties, namely, the conformational changes when two different n-alkane molecules are mixed. We propose, following the work of Vega and co-workers [J. Chem. Phys. 1999, 111, 3192], a simple model to account for the conformational changes in molecules. The resulting free energy is combined with the SAFT free energy to describe the excess thermodynamic properties of binary mixtures of n-alkanes. Predictions from the theory are compared with experimental data taken from the literature. The agreement between the experiments and the theoretical predictions is excellent in all cases. This work shows that although minor microscopic effects, such as the conformational changes in the molecules that form the mixtures, have only a very small effect on the usual thermodynamic properties, such as pressure, chemical potential, phase equilibria, and excess volumes, they can contribute significantly to other thermodynamic properties. In fact, one of the main conclusions of this work is that it is essential that conformational effects be taken into account in molecular-based theories if an accurate description of certain excess properties (excess enthalpy for instance) is desired.

Vapor−Liquid and Vapor−Liquid−Liquid Equilibria of Carbon Dioxide/n-Perfluoroalkane/n-Alkane Ternary Mixtures

Perfluoroalkanes have numerous applications (e.g., in the medical field and the chemical industry), and their high affinity for carbon dioxide makes them attractive as surfactants and cosolvents. Although research in this area has grown in the past few years, very little phase-equilibrium data is available in the open literature for these systems. In this work, we present, for the first time, predictions of vapor-liquid and vapor-liquid-liquid equilibria of binary and ternary systems of carbon dioxide/n-perfluoroalkane/n-alkane. Our results are based on the SAFT-VR EOS (statistical associating fluid theory of variable range, equation of state), and we study the influence of temperature, pressure, composition, and chain length on the phase diagram. The predicted phase diagrams are based on temperature-independent binary interaction parameters, and no ternary parameters are introduced. Comparisons to the available experimental and molecular simulation data show that the predicted diagrams should provide a good representation of the phase equilibria.

Thermodynamic properties of Lennard-Jones chain molecules: Renormalization-group corrections to a modified statistical associating fluid theory

A modified version of the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT), the so-called soft-SAFT equation of state (EOS), has been extended by a crossover treatment to take into account the long density fluctuations encountered when the critical region is approached. The procedure, based on White's work from the renormalization group theory [Fluid Phase Equilibria 75, 53 (1992); L. W. Salvino and J. A. White, J. Chem. Phys. 96, 4559 (1992)], is implemented in terms of recursion relations where the density fluctuations are successively incorporated. The crossover soft-SAFT equation provides the correct nonclassical critical exponents when approaching the critical point, and reduces to the original soft-SAFT equation far from the critical region. The accuracy of the global equation is tested by direct comparison with molecular simulation results of Lennard-Jones chains, obtaining very good agreement and clear improvements compared to the original soft-SAFT EOS. Excellent agreement with vapor-liquid equilibrium experimental data inside and outside the critical region for the n-alkane series is also obtained. We provide a set of transferable molecular parameters for this family, unique for the whole range of thermodynamic properties.

Interfacial properties of Lennard-Jones chains by direct simulation and density gradient theory

We perform a series of molecular dynamics simulations of Lennard-Jones chains systems, up to tetramers, in order to investigate the influence of temperature and chain length on their phase separation and interfacial properties. Simulation results serve as a test to check the accuracy of a statistical associated fluid theory (soft-SAFT) coupled with the density gradient theory. We focus on surface tension and density profiles. The simulations allow us to discuss the success and limitations of the theory and how to estimate the only adjustable parameter, the influence parameter. This parameter is obtained by fitting the surface tension, and then used to obtain the density profiles in a predictive manner. A good agreement is found if the temperature dependence of this parameter is neglected.(c) 2004 American Institute of Physics.