Effect of three-body interactions on the vapor-liquid phase equilibria of binary fluid mixtures

Gibbs-Duhem Monte Carlo simulations are reported for the vapor-liquid phase coexistence of binary argon+krypton mixtures at different temperatures. The calculations employ accurate two-body potentials in addition to contributions from three-body dispersion interactions resulting from third-order triple-dipole interactions. A comparison is made with experiment that illustrates the role of three-body interactions on the phase envelope. In all cases the simulations represent genuine predictions with input parameters obtained independently from sources other than phase equilibria data. Two-body interactions alone are insufficient to adequately describe vapor-liquid coexistence. In contrast, the addition of three-body interactions results in very good agreement with experiment. In addition to the exact calculation of three-body interactions, calculations are reported with an approximate formula for three-body interactions, which also yields good results.     

Computing the starting state for Gibbs-Duhem integration

Gibbs-Duhem integration implies the numerical integration of a Clapeyron equation. To start the numerical integration, an initial coexistence point and a corresponding initial slope of the Clapeyron equation are needed. In order to apply Gibbs-Duhem integration to all kinds of systems at diverse physical conditions, one has to investigate and assess the available methods that can be used to compute these initial values. This publication focuses on vapor-liquid equilibria in binary mixtures comprising chain molecules. The initial coexistence point is either computed with the NVbeta Gibbs ensemble or with the Npbeta+test molecule method with overlapping distributions, which is introduced in this publication. Although computationally demanding, the Npbeta+test molecule method with overlapping distributions is applicable at conditions where the NVbeta Gibbs ensemble fails. We investigated three methods that can be employed to compute the initial slope of the Clapeyron equation. The Widom method and the overlapping-distributions difference method provide correct values for the initial slope. The difference method does only provide the correct answer in special cases. The possibility to judge the reliability of the results makes the overlapping-distributions difference method the safest route to the initial slope. Gibbs-Duhem integration requires the frequent computation of the slope of the Clapeyron equation. This slope depends on ensemble averages of the composition. A new bias method for efficient sampling of the composition in a semigrand-canonical simulation of chain molecules is presented. This bias method considerably enhances the composition sampling in systems comprising chain molecules of different sizes.     

A modified clausius equation of state for calculation of multicomponent refrigerant vapor-liquid equilibria

Gow, A.S., 1993. A modified Clausius equation of state for calculation of multicomponent refrigerant vapor-liquid equilibria. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 90: 219-249.

A modified Clausius equation of state with a single temperature dependent energy-volume parameter a(T) in the attractive term was designed to describe the vapor pressure vs. temperature relationship of 39 pure refrigerant fluids including elementary cryogenic materials (e.g. He, Ar, N₂, CO₂, CH₄, etc.), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), fluorocarbons (FCs), and various other simple cryogenic compounds. The equation developed represents the vapor-liquid coexistence dome, and the superheated vapor compressibility factor and enthalpy for pure refrigerants.

The vapor-liquid equilibrium for refrigerant mixtures is calculated using a “phi-phi” method with “one fluid” van der Waals mixing and combining rules for the equation of state parameters a_M(T), b_M and c_M. A single interaction constant k₁₂ is used to describe non-ideal behavior of each binary. The binary interaction constant, which is a strong function of temperature, and the sign of which signifies the type of deviations from Raoult's law, is obtained by correlating experimental bubble point data for isothermal binary refrigerant mixtures. The proposed equation of state generally describes binary P-x,y data more accurately the higher the temperature for a given system. The method presented is extended to predict vapor-liquid equilibria for the R14-R23-R13 ternary system at 198.75 K using binary interaction constants at this temperature for the three binaries involved.     

Isomolar semigrand ensemble molecular dynamics: development and application to liquid-liquid equilibria

An extended system molecular dynamics method for the isomolar semigrand ensemble (fixed number of particles, pressure, temperature, and fugacity fraction) is developed and applied to the calculation of liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) for two Lennard-Jones mixtures. The method utilizes an extended system variable to dynamically control the fugacity fraction xi of the mixture by gradually transforming the identity of particles in the system. Two approaches are used to compute coexistence points. The first approach uses multiple-histogram reweighting techniques to determine the coexistence xi and compositions of each phase at temperatures near the upper critical solution temperature. The second approach, useful for cases in which there is no critical solution temperature, is based on principles of small system thermodynamics. In this case a coexistence point is found by running N-P-T-xi simulations at a common temperature and pressure and varying the fugacity fraction to map out the difference in chemical potential between the two species A and B (mu(A)-mu(B)) as a function of composition. Once this curve is known the equal-distance/equal-area criterion is used to determine the coexistence point. Both approaches give results that are comparable to those of previous Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. By formulating this approach in a molecular dynamics framework, it should be easier to compute the LLE of complex molecules whose intramolecular degrees of freedom are often difficult to properly sample with MC techniques.     

Determination of fluid-phase behavior using transition-matrix Monte Carlo: binary Lennard-Jones mixtures

We present a novel computational methodology for determining fluid-phase equilibria in binary mixtures. The method is based on a combination of highly efficient transition-matrix Monte Carlo and histogram reweighting. In particular, a directed grand-canonical transition-matrix Monte Carlo scheme is used to calculate the particle-number probability distribution, after which histogram reweighting is used as a postprocessing procedure to determine the conditions of phase equilibria. To validate the methodology, we have applied it to a number of model binary Lennard-Jones systems known to exhibit nontrivial fluid-phase behavior. Although we have focused on monatomic fluids in this work, the method presented here is general and can be easily extended to more complex molecular fluids. Finally, an important feature of this method is the capability to predict the entire fluid-phase diagram of a binary mixture at fixed temperature in a single simulation.     

Prediction of thermodynamic, transport and vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of binary mixtures of ethylene glycol and water

Equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques were applied to predict various thermodynamic, transport and vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of binary mixtures of ethylene glycol and water (EG-W) based on OPLS-AA and SPC/E force fields. The properties predicted include density, vaporization enthalpy, enthalpy of mixing, heat capacities, diffusion coefficients, shear viscosities, thermal conductivities, vapor-liquid coexistence isotherms and isobaric curves, and saturation vapor pressures. Good agreements with experimental data were obtained for most of these properties. Errors are mostly related to inaccuracy found in predictions of pure fluids; a correction to prediction of pure substance can systematically improve prediction for the mixture. This work suggests that OPLS-AA and SPC/E force fields using the common combining rules are transferable for predicting multiple physical properties of EG-W mixtures.     

Phase equilibria in carbon dioxide expanded solvents: Experiments and molecular simulations

We present complementary molecular simulations and experimental results of phase equilibria for carbon dioxide expanded acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, toluene, and 1-octene. The volume expansion measurements were done using a high-pressure Jerguson view cell. Molecular simulations were performed using the Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo method. Calculations in the canonical ensemble (NVT) were performed to determine the coexistence curve of the pure solvent systems. Binary mixtures were simulated in the isobaric-isothermal distribution (NPT). Predictions of vapor-liquid equilibria of the pure components agree well with experimental data. The simulations accurately reproduced experimental data on saturated liquid and vapor densities for carbon dioxide, methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetic acid, toluene, and 1-octene. In all carbon dioxide expanded liquids (CXL's) studied, the molecular simulation results for the volume expansion of these binary mixtures were found to be as good as, and in many cases superior to, predictions based on the Peng-Robinson equation of state, demonstrating the utility of molecular simulation in the prediction of CXL phase equilibria.     

Direct determination of phase behavior of square-well fluids

We have combined Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations with the aggregation volume-biased method in conjunction with the Gibbs-Duhem method to provide the first direct estimates for the vapor-solid, vapor-liquid, and liquid-solid phase coexistences of square-well fluids with three different ranges of attraction. Our results are consistent with the previous simulations and verify the notion that the vapor-liquid coexistence behavior becomes metastable for cases where the attraction well becomes smaller than 1.25 times the particle diameter. In these cases no triple point is found.     

Low-temperature vapor-liquid equilibria from parallelized molecular dynamics simulations. Application to 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene

A parallelized sampling version of the Gibbs Ensemble (Mol. Phys. 2000, 98, 1887) has been implemented to predict low-temperature vapor-liquid equilibria of 1- and 2-methylnaphthalene modeled by anisotropic united atom potentials. The simulation were performed at the low temperature of 364.2 K at which common direct simulation methods fail due to particle transfer problems. The simulation results are compared with published results obtained from the Gibbs-Duhem integration method and with experimental data. Both methods are compared and discussed in terms of computational efficiency and with respect to their future use at other thermodynamic conditions.     

Isomolar-semigrand ensemble molecular dynamics: application to vapor-liquid equilibrium of the mixture methane/ethane

The isomolar-semigrand ensemble molecular dynamics (iSGMD) method is applied to the simulation of the binary system methane/ethane. The vapor-liquid equilibrium properties of this system at a temperature of 192.37 K are computed using the Gibbs-Duhem integration method. The iSGMD method, which resembles conventional hybrid Monte Carlo (MC) but is applicable to phase equilibrium calculations, is designed to overcome the difficulties associated with performing standard Monte Carlo-type particle transformations in liquid systems that are very dense and/or are comprised of complex molecules with many intramolecular degrees of freedom. This work shows that particle transformations using the iSGMD method for the simple system methane/ethane are at least 25 times more successful than standard MC-type transformations. The P-x-y curve for the system methane/ethane at 192.37 K computed using iSGMD simulations agrees very well with the experimental P-x-y curve as well as results of a previous MC study.     

A unified methodological framework for the simulation of nonisothermal ensembles

A general framework is developed for the simulation of nonisothermal statistical-mechanical ensembles. This framework is intended to synthesize the formulation of advanced Monte Carlo simulation methods such as multihistogram reweighting, replica-exchange methods, and expanded ensemble techniques so that they can be applied to different nonisothermal ensembles. Using Lennard-Jones systems as test cases, novel implementations of these methods are demonstrated with different ensembles including the microcanonical, isobaric-isoenthalpic, and isobaric-semigrand ensembles. In particular, it is shown that the use of multiensemble methods allows the efficient simulation of microcanonical density of states, entropies, vapor-liquid and solid-liquid equilibrium for pure component systems, and fluid-phase coexistence for binary mixtures. In these applications, comparisons are also presented that highlight the advantages of the proposed multiensemble implementations over alternative methods used before.     

A general perturbation approach for equation of state development: applications to simple fluids, ab initio potentials, and fullerenes

A new perturbation scheme based on the Barker-Henderson perturbation theory [J. Chem. Phys. 47, 4714 (1967)] is proposed to predict the thermodynamic properties of spherical molecules. Accurate predictions of second virial coefficients and vapor-liquid coexistence properties are obtained for a large variety of potential functions (square well, Yukawa, Sutherland, Lennard-Jones, Buckingham, Girifalco). New Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations of the generalized exp-m Buckingham potential are reported. An extension of the perturbation approach to mixtures is proposed, and excellent predictions of vapor-liquid equilibria are obtained for Lennard-Jones mixtures. The perturbation scheme can be applied to complex potential functions fitted to ab initio data to predict the properties of real molecules such as neon. The new approach can also be used as an auxiliary tool in molecular simulation studies, to efficiently optimize an intermolecular potential on macroscopic properties or match force fields based on different potential functions.     

Association model of fluids. Phase equilibria in sulphur dioxide mixtures

The vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid equilibria of binary mixtures formed by sulphur dioxide with organic components are reproduced well using a new associated-solution model whose association and solvation constants are defined in terms of the modified segment fractions of chemical species. The model shows a good performance in predicting ternary vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid equilibria of sulphur dioxide mixtures from only binary parameters.     

A molecular theory for the thermodynamic behavior of polar mixtures. II. Development of an equation of state based on the local composition mixing rules

In this study, the essential features of a molecular theory developed earlier for the local composition model in solution thermodynamics is used as the basis for more applied calculations of vapor-liquid equilibria for mixtures of molecules vastly different in size, polarity, and strength of interaction. An accurate equation of state is introduced into the method by incorporating the Helmholtz free energy through the Gibbs-Helmholtz relation. In the local composition mixing rules, the interaction energy effects are represented by a multifluid model, while molecular size effects are represented by a one-fluid model, which in spirit corresponds to a mean density approximation for the molecular pair distribution functions. Calculations of the vapor-liquid equilibria of a wide variety of binary mixtures including nonpolar hydrocarbons, hydrogen-bonding alcohols, water, ammonia , and carbon dioxide show good agreement with experimental data.     

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibria of the methanol,methyl acetate and methyl acrylate system at atmospheric pressure

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data were determined at atmospheric pressure for the binary and the ternary mixtures of methanol, methyl acetate and (stabilized) methyl acrylate. The thermodynamic consistency of the data for the three binary mixtures was tested via Herington analysis. The experimental VLE data were reduced and binary parameters for four activity coefficient models, such as Margules, Wilson, NRTL and UNIQUAC, were fitted. The four models with their best-fitted parameters were used to predict the ternary vapor-liquid equilibria. A comparison of model performances was made by using the criterion of average absolute deviations in boiling point and in vapor-phase composition.     

A semi-empirical equation of state applied to vapor-liquid equilibria calculations

A five-parameter equation of state is proposed to calculate the vapor-liquid equilibria of compounds in binary and multicomponent mixtures. This equation is closely related to a previous equation of state proposed by the author, the main modification being in the entropic term where the parameter m assumes a constant value for all compounds. It is shown that the van der Waals conditions at the critical point and the Morbidelli-Carra' algorithm enable the calculation of three other constants. Rules are given to calculate the remaining constant K which pertains to the enthalpic term. The proposed method only requires knowledge of the critical constants and of the normal boiling temperature as input parameters. A wide application of the new equation to both polar and non-polar binary systems indicates the following: the proposed method is predictive for ideal or nearly ideal mixtures; the correlation of mixtures of hydrocarbons having very different molar volumes can be obtained by optimizing only the binary interaction parameter linked to the enthalpic term; the new equation also correlates well with strongly non-ideal systems which exhibit a miscibility gap; the prediction of multicomponent vapor-liquid equilibria from the binary data alone is also reliable for both polar and non-polar mixtures.     

Vapor-liquid coexistence of patchy models: relevance to protein phase behavior

The vapor-liquid coexistence boundaries of fluids composed of particles interacting with highly directional patchy interactions, in addition to an isotropic square well potential, are evaluated using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations combined with the histogram reweighting and finite size scaling methods. We are motivated to study this more complicated model for two reasons. First, it is established that the reduced widths of the metastable vapor-liquid coexistence curve predicted by a model with only isotropic interparticle interactions are much too narrow when compared to the experimental phase behavior of protein solutions. Second, interprotein interactions are well known to be "patchy." Our results show that at a constant total areal density of patches, the critical temperature and the critical density increase monotonically with an increasing number of uniformly spaced patches. The vapor-liquid coexistence curves plotted in reduced coordinates (i.e., the temperature and the density scaled by their respective critical values) are found to be effectively independent of the number of patches, but are much broader than those found for the isotropic models. Our findings for the reduced width of the coexistence curve are almost in quantitative agreement with the available experimental data for protein solutions, stressing the importance of patchiness in this context.     

Representation of Multicomponent Liquid-Liquid Equilibria for Aqueous and Organic Solutions Using a Modified UNIQUAC Model

A modified form of the UNIQUAC model is presented to accurately reproducebinary phase equilibria and ternary and quaternary liquid-liquid equilibria ofaqueous and organic solutions. The model gives a good representation in thereproduction of binary coexistence curves over a wide temperature range usingtemperature-dependent parameters and of binary vapor-liquid equilibria usingtwo binary energy parameters, and in the correlation of ternary and quaternaryliquid-liquid equilibria using ternary and quaternary parameters, in addition tobinary parameters. The quaternary calculated results are compared with thoseobtained from the modified Wilson and extended UNIQUAC models.     

Effect of partial charge parametrization on the fluid phase behavior of hydrogen sulfide

The effect of partial charge parametrization on the fluid phase behavior of hydrogen sulfide is investigated with grand canonical histogram reweighting Monte Carlo simulations. Four potential models, based on a Lennard-Jones + point charge functional form, are developed. It is shown that Lennard-Jones parameters can be tuned such that partial charges for the sulfur atom in the range -0.40 < q(s) < -0.252 will lead to an accurate reproduction of experimental vapor-liquid equilibria. Each of the parameter sets developed in this work are used to predict the pressure composition behavior H2S-n-pentane at 377.6 K. While the mixture calculation provides a means of reducing the number of candidate parameter sets, multiple parameter sets were found to yield an excellent reproduction of both the pure component and mixture phase behavior.     

Vapor-liquid and vapor-solid phase equilibria for united-atom benzene models near their triple points: the importance of quadrupolar interactions

Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations were used to calculate the vapor-liquid and vapor-solid coexistence curves for benzene using two simple united-atom models. An extension of the Gibbs ensemble method that makes use of an elongated box containing a slab of the condensed phase with a vapor phase along one axis was employed for the simulations of the vapor-solid equilibria and the vapor-liquid equilibria at very low reduced temperatures. Configurational-bias and aggregation-volume-bias Monte Carlo techniques were applied to improve the sampling of particle transfers between the two simulation boxes and between the vapor and condensed-phase regions of the elongated box. An isotropic united-atom representation with six Lennard-Jones sites at the positions of the carbon atoms was used for both force fields, but one model contained three additional out-of-plane partial charge sites to explicitly represent benzene's quadrupolar interactions. Both models were fitted to reproduce the critical temperature and density of benzene and yield a fair representation of the vapor-liquid coexistence curve. In contrast, differences between the models are very large for the vapor-solid coexistence curve. In particular, the lack of explicit quadrupolar interactions for the 6-site model greatly reduces the energetic differences between liquid and solid phases, and this model yields a triple point temperature that is about a factor of 2 too low. In contrast, the 9-site model predicts a triple point of benzene at T = 253 +/- 6 K and p = 2.3 +/- 0.8 kPa in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data (T = 278.7 K and p = 4.785 kPa).