Statistical mechanical description of supercritical fluid extraction and retrograde condensation

Journal Article · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987 · Int. J. Thermophys.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00567105· OSTI ID:6076323

Park, S J; Kwak, T Y; Mansoori, G A

The phenomena of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and its reverse effect, which is known as retrograde condensation (RC), have found new and important applications in industrial separation of chemical compounds and recovery and processing of natural products and fossil fuels. Full-scale industrial utilization of SFE/RC processes requires knowledge about thermodynamic and transport characteristics of the asymmetric mixtures involved and the development of predictive modeling and correlation techniques for performance of the SFE/RC system under consideration. In this report, through the application of statistical mechanical techniques, the reasons for the lack of accuracy of existing predictive approaches are described and they are improved. It is demonstrated that these techniques also allow them to study the effect of mixed supercritical solvents on the solubility of heavy solutes (solids) at different compositions of the solvents, pressures, and temperatures. Fluid phase equilibrium algorithms based on the conformal solution van der Waals mixing rules and different equations of state are presented for the prediction of solubilities of heavy liquid in supercritical gases. It is shown that the Peng-Robinson equation of state based on conformal solution theory can predict solubilities of heavy liquid in supercritical gases more accurately than the van der Waals and Redlich-Kwong equations of state.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Illinois, Chicago
• OSTI ID: 6076323
• Journal Information: Int. J. Thermophys.; (United States), Journal Name: Int. J. Thermophys.; (United States) Vol. 8:4; ISSN IJTHD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ACCURACY
ALKANES
ALKENES
AROMATICS
BENZENE
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COMPRESSED GASES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
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DECANE
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
EQUATIONS
EQUATIONS OF STATE
EQUILIBRIUM
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FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
FORECASTING
GASES
HARD-SPHERE MODEL
HYDROCARBONS
INTERMOLECULAR FORCES
LIQUIDS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICS
METHANE
MIXED SOLVENTS
MIXTURES
MOLECULAR MODELS
NAPHTHALENE
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
RESERVOIR FLUIDS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SIMULATION
SOLUBILITY
SOLVENT EXTRACTION
SOLVENT PROPERTIES
SOLVENTS
STATISTICAL MECHANICS
SUPERCRITICAL GAS EXTRACTION
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMODYNAMICS
VAN DER WAALS FORCES
VAPOR CONDENSATION