Identification of the phase of a fluid using partial derivatives of pressure, volume, and temperature without reference to saturation properties: Applications in phase equilibria calculations

The phase of a fluid (liquid, vapor) at a given state is normally identified by comparing the properties of the fluid at the given state with saturation properties. In this paper we present a thermodynamic method for determining the phase of a fluid from the partial derivatives of pressure, volume and temperature without reference to saturated properties. The method has immediate application in a variety of phase equilibria calculations, particularly for liquid-liquid or vapor-liquid-liquid equilibria calculations in process simulators.