Contact angle measurements under thermodynamic equilibrium conditions

The precise control of the ambient humidity during contact angle measurements is needed to obtain stable and valid data. For a such purpose, a simple low-cost device was designed, and several modified surfaces relevant to biosensor design were studied. Static contact angle values for these surfaces are lower than advancing contact angles published for ambient conditions, indicating that thermodynamic equilibrium conditions are needed to avoid drop evaporation during the measurements.     

Temperature of systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium

Two phenomenological approaches are currently used in the study of the vitreous state. One is based on the concept of fictive temperature introduced by Tool [J. Res. Natl. Bur. Stand. 34, 199 (1945)] and recently revisited by Nieuwenhuizen [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 5580 (1998)]. The other is based on the thermodynamics of irreversible processes initiated by De Donder at the beginning of the last century [L'Affinite (Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 1927)] and recently used by Moller et al. for a thorough study of the glass transition [J. Chem. Phys. 125, 094505 (2006)]. This latter approach leads to the possibility of describing the glass transition by means of the freezing-in of one or more order parameters connected to the internal structural degrees of freedom involved in the vitrification process. In this paper, the equivalence of the two preceding approaches is demonstrated, not only for glasses but in a very general way for any system undergoing an irreversible transformation. This equivalence allows the definition of an effective temperature for all systems departed from equilibrium generating a positive amount of entropy. In fact, the initial fictive temperature concept of Tool leads to the generalization of the notion of temperature for systems out of thermodynamic equilibrium, for which glasses are just particular cases.     

A compare review about equilibrium conditions of semi-clathrate hydrate: experimental measurements visions and thermodynamic modeling aspects

The formation of gaseous (gas) hydrates for storage, separation and transportation application is essential. In this regard, a comprehensive study of this case is essential. Semi-clathrate hydrates have higher temperature stability and are formed in a stable range. The purpose of this study is review the experimental and modeling of the semi-clathrate hydrates, to investigate the equilibrium conditions for the formation/dissociation of them based on the type of thermodynamic promoters like TBAB, TBAC, TBAF, TBANO₃ and TBP groups. This review is consist of 4 overall section, at first an introduction to semi-clathrate hydrates has defined. After that, the experimental research has discussed through different gas systems such as CO₂, CH₄, N₂, H₂ etc. Also, the target of each study, like the CO₂ capture, separation of CH4, formation/dissociation equilibrium conditions, are expressed. Then, in the modeling section, the different types of thermodynamic modeling like, equaling fugacity, intelligence computing, Gibbs free energy minimization and Chen-Guo method are collected. At final section, a comparison between types of promoter showed that the addition of TBAF to aqueous solution has the best promotion effect on the CO₂ clathrate hydrate formation. Also, the results of comparing the concentration of promoters have shown that up to a certain amount of TBAB, the salt's role as a promoter and by addition concentration of promoter, has an inhibition effect. Also, besides the results of the comparison different promoters on equilibrium conditions of different gaseous hydrates, have indicated that, TBAB has the most significant impact on carbon dioxide hydrate.

     

Phase equilibrium in polymer systems

The topological analysis of phase equilibria in polymer systems, which was developed by S.P. Papkov; the classification of the types of phase equilibrium; the principle of mutual independence of the two types of equilibrium; the concept of the generality of the phase equilibrium in polymer-solvent, polymer-plasticizer, polymer-oligomer, and polymer-polymer systems; and the processes of water sorption by polymers are considered. It is shown that the problems that Papkov dealt with remain topical and the concepts that he elaborated can underlie new studies in the field of phase equilibria in polymer systems.     

Phase equilibrium modeling of triglycerides in supercritical fluids

To design a reactor and separator for a supercritical biodiesel process, phase equilibria of multi-component mixtures in supercritical fluids should be determined using group contribution with association equation of state (GCA-EOS) as a thermodynamics method. The model is considered for two systems of reactants and products. System 1 is comprised of methanol and triglycerides from two sources (palm and Jatropha oils); and System 2 is unconverted methanol, FAME (product) and glycerol (by-product). Pressure and temperature diagrams were developed at different mole fraction of methanol (x_MeOH). As x_MeOH increased, the critical temperature (T_c) and pressure (p_c) increased. The increasing temperature causes the immiscibility region and the amount of methanol at the plait point to decrease. The maximum plait point pressure was observed at 19.20 MPa for palm and 19.33 MPa for Jatropha oil systems.     

Measurement and thermodynamic modeling of the phase equilibrium of aqueous N-methyldiethanolamine solutions

Isobaric vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) measurements at 40.0, 53.3 and 66.7 kPa (300, 400 and 500 mmHg) of aqueous N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) solutions were performed using a modified ebulliometer. The concentration of MDEA in the liquid phase ranged from about 0.06 to 0.93 in mole fraction and the temperatures from about 76 to 186 °C. The data measured in this work, along with other experimental data taken from the literature, are used for the improvement of the thermodynamic modeling of the water/MDEA binary system.     

Phase equilibrium data and thermodynamic modeling of the system (CO2 + biodiesel + methanol) at high pressures

The main objective of this work was to investigate the high pressure phase behavior of the binary systems {CO₂(1) + methanol(2)} and {CO₂(1) + soybean methyl esters (biodiesel)(2)} and the ternary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2) + methanol(3)} were determined. Biodiesel was produced from soybean oil, purified, characterized and used in this work. The static synthetic method, using a variable-volume view cell, was employed to obtain the experimental data in the temperature range of (303.15 to 343.15) K and pressures up to 21 MPa. The mole fractions of carbon dioxide were varied according to the systems as follows: (0.2383 to 0.8666) for the binary system {CO₂(1) + methanol(2)}; (0.4201 to 0.9931) for the binary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2)}; (0.4864 to 0.9767) for the ternary system {CO₂(1) + biodiesel(2) + methanol(3)} with a biodiesel to methanol molar ratio of (1:3); and (0.3732 to 0.9630) for the system {CO₂ + biodiesel + methanol} with a biodiesel to methanol molar ratio of (8:1). For these systems, (vapor + liquid), (liquid + liquid), (vapor + liquid + liquid) transitions were observed. The phase equilibrium data obtained for the systems were modeled using the Peng–Robinson equation of state with the classical van der Waals (PR-vdW2) and Wong-Sandler (PR–WS) mixing rules. Both thermodynamic models were able to satisfactorily correlate the phase behavior of the systems investigated and the PR–WS presented the best performance.     

Vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid equilibrium properties of ethane + methanol system at ambient temperature

The liquid-liquid and vapor-liquid equilibrium data for the binary system of ethane + methanol were measured at ambient temperature over a wide range of pressures using a designed PVT apparatus. The experimental liquid-liquid and vapor-liquid equilibrium data were compared with the modeling results obtained using the Peng Robinson and Soave-Redlich-Kwong equations of state.     

Phase equilibrium calculations of highly polar systems

It is well known that highly polar and hydrogen bonding mixtures pose a serious challenge to equations of state. In the present report it is shown that excellent correlations and predictions of complex systems can be achieved when the van der Waals mixing rules are properly associated with an equation of state. In this report the proper form of the van der Waals mixing rules is used with the Peng—Robinson equation of state to predict the vapor—liquid equilibrium properties of water—ketone, water—alcohol, alcohol—ketone, and other complex mixtures, which exhibit either positive or negative azeotropy, with an accuracy which was not achievable by the original form of Peng—Robinson equation of state of mixtures.     

Determination of volatile components of systems not in thermodynamic equilibrium

A review is given of the literature on the analysis of complex mixtures of organic compounds and a procedure proposed for the separation and identification of the components of such mixtures. Retention data obtained with several chromatographic columns are combined with information from mass and Fourier-transform infrared spectra and identifications made with the aid of a computer.     

Solubility measurement of methane in aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate at ambient temperature and near hydrate conditions

Solubility data of methane in aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with different concentrations were measured at ambient temperature and near hydrate conditions. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) and the number of methane molecules dissolved in each micelle of the methane + water + SDS system were calculated and compared with those of the ethylene + water + SDS system. The results demonstrated that the micelles could be formed in the SDS concentration range where an efficient promotion effect on hydrate formation was previously reported; the micelle solubilization to methane molecules was remarkable near hydrate conditions, and the ethylene molecules could be solubilized in micelles in preference to methane molecules.     

Phase equilibrium measurements for systems containing propanenitrile with tert-butyl ethyl ether and C4-hydrocarbons

A static total pressure apparatus was used to measure isothermal VLE for systems containing propanenitrile +n-butane (322.02 K), +1-butene (312.55 K), +2-methylpropane (307.85 K) and +2-methylpropene (312.59 K). Vapour liquid equilibrium (VLE) for propanenitrile + tert-butyl ethyl ether (ETBE) was measured both with the static total pressure apparatus at 312.85 K and 358.32 K and with a glass circulation still apparatus at 102.6 kPa and 65.2 kPa. The system of propanenitrile + ETBE evidenced azeotropic behaviour.     

Tuning methane content in gas hydrates via thermodynamic modeling and molecular dynamics simulation

Storage and transportation of natural gas as gas hydrate (“gas-to-solids technology”) is a promising alternative to the established liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG) technologies. Gas hydrates offer a relatively high gas storage capacity and mild temperature and pressure conditions for formation. Simulations based on the van der Waals–Platteeuw model and molecular dynamics (MD) are employed in this study to relate the methane gas content/occupancy in different hydrate systems with the hydrate stability conditions including temperature, pressure, and secondary clathrate stabilizing guests. Methane is chosen as a model system for natural gas. It was found that the addition of about 1% propane suffices to increase the structure II (sII) methane hydrate stability without excessively compromising methane storage capacity in hydrate. When tetrahydrofuran (THF) is used as the stabilizing agent in sII hydrate at concentration between 1% and 3%, a reasonably high methane content in hydrate can be maintained (∼85–100, v/v) without dealing with pressures more than 5 MPa and close to room temperature.     

Phase equilibrium measurements of ternary systems formed by linoleic and linolenic acids in carbon dioxide/ethanol mixtures

This work reports phase equilibrium measurements for the ternary systems linoleic (acid + CO₂ + ethanol) and (linolenic acid + CO₂ + ethanol). The fatty acids present in the ternary systems were selected based on composition of banana peel oil extracted by supercritical CO₂ at 20 MPa and 313 K. The motivation of this research relies on the fact that these unsaturated fatty acids are recognized to play an important role in lowering blood pressure and serum cholesterol and because they are present in high concentrations in banana peel extract. Besides that, equilibrium data of these compounds are scarce in literature. The phase equilibrium experiments were performed using a high-pressure variable-volume view cell over the temperature range of (303 to 343) K and pressures up to 19 MPa. For both systems, only vapour–liquid phase transitions were visually recorded for all data measured.     

Nanoscale tubular vessels for storage of methane at ambient temperatures

Novel carbon nanostructures can serve as effective storage media for methane, a source of "clean energy" for the future. We have used Grand Canonical Monte Carlo Simulation for the modeling of methane storage at 293 K and pressures up to 80 MPa in idealized bundles of (10,10) armchair-type single-walled carbon nanotubes and wormlike carbon pores. We have found that these carbon nanomaterials can be treated as the world's smallest high-capacity methane storage vessels. Our simulation results indicate that such novel carbon nanostructures can reach a high volumetric energy storage, exceeding the US FreedomCAR Partnership target of 2010 (5.4 MJ dm(-3)), at low to moderate pressures ranging from 1 to 7 MPa at 293 K. On the contrary, in the absence of these nanomaterials, methane needs to be compressed to approximately 13 MPa at 293 K to achieve the same target. The light carbon membranes composed of bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes or wormlike pores efficiently physisorb methane at low to moderate pressures at 293 K, which we believe should be particularly important for automobiles and stationary devices. However, above 15-20 MPa at 293 K, all investigated samples of novel carbon nanomaterials are not as effective when compared with compression alone since the stored volumetric energy and power saturate at values below those of the bulk, compressed fluid.     

Measurements of methane hydrate equilibrium in systems inhibited with NaCl and methanol

Natural gas hydrates are ice-like inclusion compounds that form at high pressures and low temperatures in the presence of water and light hydrocarbons. Hydrate formation conditions are favorable in gas and oil pipelines, and their formation threatens gas and oil production. Thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors (THIs) are chemicals (e.g., methanol, monoethylene glycol) deployed in gas pipelines to depress the equilibrium temperature required for hydrate formation. This work presents a novel application of a stepwise differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurement to accurately determine the methane hydrate phase boundary in the presence of THIs. The scheme is first validated on a model (ice + salt water) system, and then generalized to measure hydrate equilibrium temperatures for pure systems and 0.035 mass fraction NaCl solutions diluted to 0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 mass fraction methanol. The hydrate equilibrium temperatures are measured at methane pressures from (7.0 to 20.0) MPa. The measured equilibrium temperatures are compared to values computed by the predictive hydrate equilibrium tool CSMGem.     

Versatile gold catalyzed transglycosidation at ambient temperature

Glycosidation with stable alkyl glycosyl donors using a catalytic amount of gold salts is promising. Herein, 1-ethynylcyclohexanyl glycosides are identified as novel donors at room temperature and mechanistic investigation showed that the leaving group simply extrudes out.