Near-infrared spectroscopic solubility measurement for thermodynamic analysis of melting point depressions of biphenyl and naphthalene under high-pressure CO2

Melting temperatures of organic solids are often depressed by high-pressure CO₂ due to a dissolution of CO₂ in the molten organic compounds. For thermodynamic analysis of the melting point depression, solubilities of CO₂ in molten biphenyl and naphthalene were measured by near-infrared spectroscopy at various temperatures and pressures up to 20 MPa. Molarity of the organic component was determined from the 3ν_CH absorption band, and that of CO₂ from the 2ν₁ + ν₃ band. Mole fraction of CO₂ in the liquid phase was found to be an increasing function of the pressure up to 0.6 at 20 MPa and a weakly decreasing function of the temperature. The solubility data were used for modeling of the mixtures by the Peng–Robinson equation of state with a binary interaction parameter k₁₂. Calculation of the solid–liquid–gas phase equilibrium for the model fluid qualitatively described a large decrease in the melting temperature with increasing pressure up to 10 MPa followed by a small change at higher pressures. The melting point change was interpreted by the two competing effects: hydrostatic pressure effect increases the melting point by ca. 8 °C at 20 MPa, whereas CO₂ solubility effect reduces it by ca. 30 °C. Decomposition of the solubility effect into ideal and non-ideal mixing parts revealed that the non-ideality increases the melting point by more than 10 °C.     

Phase behavior of 1,3,5-tri-tert-butylbenzene–carbon dioxide binary system

1,3,5-tri-tert-butylbenzene (TTBB) is solid at ambient conditions, and has substantial solubility in liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide. We present the phase behavior of TTBB–CO₂ binary system at temperatures between 298 and 328 K and at pressures up to 20 MPa. Phase diagrams showing the liquid–vapor, solid–liquid and solid–vapor equilibrium envelopes are constructed by pressure–volume–temperature measurements in a variable-volume sapphire cell. TTBB is highly soluble in CO₂ over a wide range of compositions. Single-phase states are achieved at moderate pressures, even with very high TTBB concentrations. For example, at 328 K, a binary system containing TTBB at a concentration of 95% by weight forms a single-phase above 2.04 MPa. TTBB exhibits a significant melting-point depression in the presence of CO₂, 45 K at 3.11 MPa, where the normal melting point of 343 K is reduced to 298 K. With its high solubility in carbon dioxide, TTBB has potential uses as a binder or template in materials forming processes using dense carbon dioxide.     

Phase behavior measurement for poly(isobornyl acrylate) + cosolvent systems in supercritical solvents at high pressure

We have conducted experiments to obtain cloud-point data of binary and ternary mixtures for poly(isobornyl acrylate) [P(IBnA)] (Mw = 100,000) + isobornyl acrylate(IBnA) in supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂), P(IBnA) (Mw = 100,000) + dimethyl ether (DME) in CO₂, P(IBnA) (Mw = 100,000) in propane and butane, and P(IBnA) (Mw = 1,000,000) in propane, propylene, butane and 1-butene at high pressure conditions. Phase behaviors for these systems were measured at a temperature range from 323.4 K to 474.1 K and pressure up to 296.7 MPa. The cloud-point curves of P(IBnA) (Mw = 100,000) + IBnA and DME in CO₂ change from upper critical solution temperature (UCST) behavior to lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior as IBnA and DME concentration increases, and liquid–liquid–vapor phase behavior appears for the P(IBnA) (Mw = 100,000) + CO₂ + 80.3 wt.% IBnA system. Phase behaviors of P(IBnA) and 50 wt.% IBnA in CO₂ and P(IBnA) in propane and butane show the pressure difference in accordance with Mw = 1,000,000 and Mw = 100,000 of P(IBnA). Also, the solubility curves for IBnA in supercritical CO₂ were measured at a temperature range of (313.2–393.2) K and pressure up to 22.86 MPa. The experimental results were modeled with the Peng–Robinson equation of state (PR-EOS) using a mixing rule including two adjustable parameters. The critical property of IBnA is estimated with the Joback–Lyderson method.     

Hydrogen solubility in CO2-expanded 2-propanol and in propane-expanded 2-propanol determined by an acoustic sensor

Hydrogen solubility in CO₂-expanded 2-propanol and in propane-expanded 2-propanol was obtained by an acoustic technique described elsewhere [L. Zevnik, J. Levec, Gas expanded liquids: Determination of the volumetric expansion by an acoustic technique, J. Supercrit. Fluids (2007), in press]. Solubility in CO₂-expanded 2-propanol at expansion coefficients V/V₀ = 2 and 4 was determined at 298 and 313 K. H₂ solubility was determined also in liquid CO₂ at 298 K and partial pressure of H₂ up to 6 MPa. Solubility in propane-expanded 2-propanol with V/V₀ = 2 and 4 was measured at 333, 353 and 393 K. Hydrogen mole fraction in liquid propane was obtained at 333 K and partial pressure of H₂ up to 5 MPa. For both expanded liquids the results show that hydrogen concentration increases with increasing V/V₀ ratio and with increasing temperature. It is demonstrated, however, that the acoustic technique is a reliable method for determination of gas composition and that it can be also implemented in various fields of gas processing.     

Liquid and supercritical CO2 extraction of fat from rendered materials

The separation of fat from rendered materials has potential for value-added products, fuels and feed sources for animals. Current industrial processes utilize continuous screw pressing to extract fat from rendered materials, but the ability to minimize residual fat content is limited. In this work, liquid and supercritical CO₂ were used to extract the remaining fat from rendered poultry meal. CO₂ extraction offers high extraction yields with potential ecological and economic benefits for the rendering industry. A semi-batch extraction unit was used to investigate the effect of pressure (69–345 bar), temperature (25 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C), flow rate, and mass of CO₂ on the extraction yield and the fat solubility. Maximum extraction yields between 87% and 97% were obtained which produced a remaining fat content of 1.0 ± 0.3 wt% in the extracted poultry meal. Fat solubility increased with pressure but decreased with temperature, providing liquid CO₂ with the highest fat solubility (6.47 g/L) at 25 °C and 345 bar. The Chrastil model successfully correlated the solubility data as a function of density and temperature, obtaining an AARD value of 5.56%. Gas chromatography was used to analyze the composition of fatty acids, obtaining similar results with those reported in the literature. It can be concluded that high fat extraction yields can be obtained using CO₂ and that liquid CO₂ is more effective than supercritical CO₂ for the extraction of rendered fats under the conditions tested.     

Lycopene solubility in mixtures of carbon dioxide and ethyl acetate

In order to improve the efficiency of processes using supercritical (sc) carbon dioxide (CO₂) to micronize the carotenoid “lycopene”, it is important to know the solubility of lycopene in mixtures of the organic solvent ethyl acetate (EA) and the antisolvent CO₂ at elevated pressures. The solubility of lycopene has been determined for different temperatures (313–333 K), pressures (12–16 MPa) and CO₂ molar fractions (0.58–1). The obtained data show that CO₂ acts as an antisolvent in the system lycopene/EA/CO₂ in the range of CO₂/EA ratios studied. The solubility of lycopene is rather small with lycopene molar fractions ranging from 0.1 × 10⁻⁶ to 46 × 10⁻⁶. The solubility of lycopene increases with temperature, pressure and EA concentration.     

Density and N2O solubility of sodium and potassium carbonate solutions in the temperature range 25 to 80 °C

To deduce kinetic parameters for the reactions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in carbonate solutions the physical solubility of CO₂ into the reacting solution is needed. To measure the physical solubility directly with CO₂ is not possible, so the solubility of nitrous oxide (N₂O) is normally measured instead. The physical solubility of CO₂ can then be calculated based on the solubility of CO₂ and N₂O into water and the solubility of N₂O in the solution of interest invoking the so called N₂O analogy (Clarke, 1964; Laddha et al., 1981). To obtain good accuracy of the solubility measurements the accurate density of the solution is needed. In this study the densities were measured with pycnometers up to 353 K.In this paper the parameters in the model of Weisenberger and Schumpe (1996) were refitted specifically for the two carbonate systems using experimental data up to 353 K and up to 30 wt% (3.7 kmol/m³) aqueous sodium carbonate and up to 50 wt% (5.5 kmol/m³) aqueous potassium carbonate solutions.     

High-pressure phase equilibria for the binary system carbon dioxide + dibenzofuran

The experimental solubility of dibenzofuran in near-critical and supercritical carbon dioxide and the solid–liquid–vapor (SLV) equilibrium line for the CO₂ + dibenzofuran system are reported. The built in-house static view cell apparatus used in these measurements is described. The solubility of naphthalene in supercritical CO₂ and the CO₂ + naphthalene SLV line are also determined in order to assess the reliability and accuracy of the measurement technique. The solubility of dibenzofuran in carbon dioxide is determined at 301.3, 309.0, 319.2, 328.7 and 338.2 K in the 6–30 MPa pressure range. Solubility data are correlated using the Chrastil model and the Peng–Robinson equation of state. This equation is also used to predict the CO₂ + dibenzofuran SLV line. Results show the feasibility of using supercritical CO₂ to extract dibenzofuran.     

Investigation of thermodynamic properties of the binary system polyethylene glycol/CO2 using new methods

The solubility and diffusivity of CO₂ in polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of different molecular weight measured by two different methods are discussed in the present work. Before solubility measurements, the melting temperatures of PEG with different molecular weights were determined by means of differential scanning calorimetry. For the purpose of the present study a temperature of 343 K was chosen as the working temperature for both employed methods since all studied polymers are in liquid state at this temperature. All samples were analyzed at isothermal conditions and in the pressure range from 0 MPa up to 30.0 MPa. A set of absorption experiments on the PEG/CO₂ systems was performed using an external balance method. In order to validate results obtained by the new method they were compared to the data obtained at the same process conditions by a method using magnetic suspension balance (MSB).     

High pressure density and solubility for the CO2 + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate system

The solubility and density of the CO₂ + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate system were investigated. The carbon dioxide solubility in the IL was measured in the temperature range 273–413 K, for pressure up to 5 MPa and CO₂ mole fractions ranging from 0.02 to 0.5 using the isochoric method, while the system density was carried out at temperatures ranging from 278.15 K to 398.15 K, pressures from 10 MPa to 120 MPa and 0.2, 0.4, 0.7 and 0.8 CO₂ mole fractions. Similar to what was previously observed for phosphonate-based ILs, the ionic liquid high polarity leads to positive deviations from ideality resulting from unfavorable interactions with the CO₂.The results from the density and solubility derived properties show that the system presents important negative excess molar volumes, over the whole range of compositions and temperatures, and a negative entropy of solvation that suggests an increase in ordering of the solvent molecules surrounding the solute. The observed negative excess molar volumes result from the large difference between the molecular volumes of the species involved, with the small carbon dioxide molecules occupying the empty spaces between the larger IL ions, supporting the notion that the carbon dioxide, upon dissolution, occupies essentially the bulk free volume since the IL does not significantly expand upon gas absorption. These results portray ionic liquids as a porous media, like a soft sponge, with a huge free volume in which large amounts of carbon dioxide are able to accommodate during the dissolution process.     

Argon as a potential processing media for natural and synthetic substances

Phase equilibrium data of caffeine, vanillin, o-ethyl vanillin and a natural rosemary extract (containing 73.9% carnosic acid and 14.7% carnosol) in argon have been determined in present work.Solubility data were determined at temperatures of 313.15 K, 333.15 K and 363.15 K and in the pressure range from 0.82 MPa up to 50.27 MPa using a static–analytic method and were compared to solubility data of the same substances in CO₂.Maximal solubility of vanillin in argon was obtained at a temperature of 313.15 K and a pressure of 43.8 MPa, approx. 0.015 g/g. Comparing the solubility data of pure vanillin in argon and in CO₂ higher solubility in argon is observed at lower temperatures and pressures. For o-ethyl vanillin the solubility in argon is higher in comparison to solubility in CO₂ in the entire range of pressure, especially at higher temperatures_.Maximal solubility of caffeine in argon was observed at a temperature of 363.15 K 0.001361 g caffeine/g argon at 38.9 MPa. With increasing pressure solubility increases, while temperature does not have a noticeable impact in the temperature range from 313.15 K to 333.15 K; the solubility increased with increasing temperature to 363.15 K. Similarly, solubility of carnosic acid extract increases with increasing pressure, from about 0.0097 × 10⁻² g substance/g gas at 2.08 MPa and at 313.15 K to 0.0338 × 10⁻² g substance/g gas at 50.27 MPa and at 363.15 K.Solubility of the investigated compounds in argon is a function of both, pressure and temperature. Generally, pressure significantly impacts solubility particularly up to a pressure of 20.0 MPa in case of vanillin and up to 30 MPa in case of o-ethyl vanillin and carnosic acid extract. An additional increase of pressure has only a slight impact on solubility. In the case of caffeine, the impact of pressure on the solubility becomes more evident at pressures higher than 20 MPa.     

Measurement of CO2 sorption and PEG 1500 swelling by ATR-IR spectroscopy

In situ high-pressure ATR-IR spectroscopy was applied to simultaneously measure the sorption of CO₂ in polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weight 1500 and the polymer swelling. The band at ca. 2338 cm⁻¹ corresponding to the antisymmetric stretching mode of CO₂ was used to calculate concentration of CO₂ dissolved in PEG while spectral bands of PEG at ca. 1100 cm⁻¹ were used to calculate swelling of PEG as a function of temperature and pressure. This in situ approach allowed to observe CO₂-induced melting of PEG and to assess intermolecular interactions between CO₂ and polymer.The solubility of CO₂ in PEG 1500 was influenced by both pressure and temperature. It remarkably increased with pressure until the CO₂ critical value, then it approached a plateau. Higher solubility was observed at the lower temperature.     

Determination of the high-pressure phase equilibria of Polystyrene/p-Cymene in presence of CO2

An environmentally friendly technology to recycle Polystyrene (PS) wastes from a solution of p-Cymene using CO₂ as antisolvent was proposed. In this process, the study of equilibrium of the ternary mixtures CO₂/p-Cymene/Polystyrene is crucial, and particularly, the solubility of p-Cymene in CO₂ and the sorption of CO₂ in the solution are the key factors since the recovered polymer should be precipitated while the solvent should be fully solubilized in CO₂. In this work, the effect of pressure (50–100–150 bar), temperature (25–30–40 °C) and polymer concentration (0.05–0.80 g PS/ml p-Cymene) on the solubility of p-Cymene and CO₂ were studied to determine the most suitable conditions to perform the precipitation of Polystyrene. The experimental data were correlated as a function of density and polymer concentration according to modifications of well-known semi-empirical expressions (Chrastil's equation and Dual-Mode model). The optimum conditions to carry out the precipitation process of Polystyrene were calculated from the application of the fitted parameters obtained from the previous proposal. The most suitable conditions to precipitate Polystyrene from its solution in p-Cymene were reached at high values of density, it means, high pressure, low temperature and moderated concentration.     

Density and viscosity of the binary polyethylene glycol/CO2 systems

Density of CO₂ saturated solutions of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of different molecular weight was measured in pressure range from 8.0 MPa up to 47.7 MPa at a temperature of 343 K by a volumetric method. To validate the method density of pure CO₂ was measured at different pressures and a temperature of 293 K. The results were compared to the literature data and the accuracy was better than 2%. The density was between 1.17 g/mL for PEG 1000/CO₂ at 14.5 MPa and 1.78 g/mL for the system PEG 4000/CO₂ at 35 MPa. Further, the data were compared to results, obtained by a gravimetric method using magnetic suspension balance (MSB).Viscosity of CO₂ saturated solutions of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) of different molecular weight at different pressures and at a temperature of 343 K was measured using a high pressure view cell. Also a temperature impact on the viscosity of pure PEGs was observed at ambient pressure. After saturating PEG 1500 with 10 MPa of CO₂ pressure its viscosity decreases from 76.6 mPa s to 2.24 mPa s at 333 K. Further addition of CO₂ and increasing the pressure results in even lower viscosity and the highest viscosity reduction was reached at the highest pressure; at 35 MPa viscosity of the system PEG 1500/CO₂ is only 0.665 mPa s.     

Solubility and diffusion coefficient of supercritical-CO2 in polycarbonate and CO2 induced crystallization of polycarbonate

The solubility and diffusion coefficient of supercritical CO₂ in polycarbonate (PC) were measured using a magnetic suspension balance at sorption temperatures that ranged from 75 to 175 °C and at sorption pressures as high as 20 MPa. Above certain threshold pressures, the solubility of CO₂ decreased with time after showing a maximum value at a constant sorption temperature and pressure. This phenomenon indicated the crystallization of PC due to the plasticization effect of dissolved CO₂. A thorough investigation into the dependence of sorption temperature and pressure on the crystallinity of PC showed that the crystallization of PC occurred when the difference between the sorption temperature and the depressed glass transition temperature exceeded 40 °C (T − T_g ≥ 40 °C). Furthermore, the crystallization rate of PC was determined according to Avrami's equation. The crystallization rate increased with the sorption pressure and was at its maximum at a certain temperature under a constant pressure.     

Preparation and characterization of polystyrene foams from limonene solutions

The foaming process has been traditionally performed at high temperature because the CO₂ and the polymer should behave as a homogeneous solution. The addition of a solvent could avoid the high working temperature while the homogeneity is ensured. Among the terpene oils, limonene outlines as a good candidate to carry out the dissolution of polystyrene because it respects the green chemistry principle, it is highly soluble in CO₂ and very compatible with the polymer.The sorption of CO₂ is the first step of the foaming process. The presence of the terpene oil enhances the solubility of the gas which is solubilized in the Polystyrene as well as in the limonene. During the foaming process, many parameters can be tuned to customize the foams. In this work, a fractional factorial design of experiment was proposed to determine the effect of pressure, temperature, concentration of the solution, contact time and vent time over the diameter of cells, its standard deviation and the cells density. The proposed foaming process can be simply performed at mild pressure and temperature thanks to the presence of the solvent. The results showed that the most suitable conditions to foam polystyrene from limonene solutions are 90 bar, 30 °C, 0.1 gPS/ml Lim, 240 min contacting and 30 min venting. Finally, the samples were characterized to determine the amount of residual solvent, their glass transition and degradation temperature checking that the foams presented around 5% of solvent traces but did not show any evidence of degradation.     

Phase equilibria for the 2-ethoxyethyl acetate and 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate in supercritical CO2 at various temperatures and pressures up to 20 MPa

The (CO₂ + 2-ethoxyethyl acetate) and (CO₂ + 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate) systems at 313.2, 333.2, 353.2, 373.2 and 393.2 K as well as pressures up to 20.59 MPa have been investigated using variable-volume high pressure view cell by static-type. The solubility curve of 2-ethoxyethyl acetate and 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate in the (CO₂ + 2-ethoxyethyl acetate) and (CO₂ + 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate) systems increases as the temperature increases at a constant pressure. The (CO₂ + 2-ethoxyethyl acetate) and (CO₂ + 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate) systems exhibit type-I phase behavior. The experimental results for the (CO₂ + 2-ethoxyethyl acetate) and (CO₂ + 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate) systems correlate with the Peng–Robinson equation of state using a van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule including two adjustable parameters. The critical properties of 2-ethoxyethyl acetate and 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate are predicted with the Joback–Lyderson group contribution and Lee–Kesler method.     

Phase equilibria of (CO2 + H2O + NaCl) and (CO2 + H2O + KCl): Measurements and modeling

We report experimental measurements of the phase behavior of (CO₂ + H₂O + NaCl) and (CO₂ + H₂O + KCl) at temperatures from 323.15 K to 423.15 K, pressure up to 18.0 MPa, and molalities of 2.5 and 4.0 mol kg⁻¹. The present study was made using an analytical apparatus and is the first in which coexisting vapor- and liquid-phase composition data are provided. The new measurements are compared with the available literature data for the solubility of CO₂ in brines, many of which were measured with the synthetic method. Some literature data show large deviations from our results.The asymmetric (γ–φ) approach is used to model the phase behavior of the two systems, with the Peng–Robinson equation of state to describe the vapor phase, and the electrolyte NRTL solution model to describe the liquid phase. The model describes the mixtures in a way that preserves from our previous work on (CO₂ + H₂O) the values of the Henry's law constant and the partial molar volume of CO₂ at infinite dilution Hou et al. [22]. The activity coefficients of CO₂ in the aqueous phase are provided. Additionally, the correlation of Duan et al. [14] for the solubility of CO₂ in brines is tested against our liquid-phase data.     

Frequency response of microcantilevers immersed in gaseous,liquid, and supercritical carbon dioxide

The frequency response of ferromagnetic nickel microcantilevers with lengths ranging between 200 μm and 400 μm immersed in gaseous, liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) was investigated. The resonant frequency and the quality factor of the cantilever oscillations in CO₂ were measured for each cantilever length in the temperature range between 298 K and 323 K and the pressure range between 0.1 MPa and 20.7 MPa. At a constant temperature, both the resonant frequency and the quality factor were found to decrease with increasing pressure as a result of the increasing CO₂ density and viscosity. Very good agreement was found between the measured cantilever resonant frequencies and predictions of a model based on simplified hydrodynamic function of a cantilever oscillating harmonically in a viscous fluid valid for Reynolds numbers in the range of [1;1000] (average deviation of 2.40%). At high pressures of CO₂, the experimental Q-factors agreed well with the predicted ones. At low CO₂ pressures, additional internal mechanisms of the cantilever oscillation damping caused lowering of the measured Q-factor with respect to the hydrodynamic model predictions.     

SBA-15 grafted with 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane in supercritical propane for CO2 capture

Supercritical propane (SC-propane) was found to be a promising solvent for grafting (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APS) onto synthesized SBA-15 for CO₂ capture. The influence of operating conditions in SC-propane for CO₂ adsorption at different pressures (8.3–13.8 MPa), temperatures (85–120 °C), and periods of time (4–16 h) were evaluated. The CO₂ adsorption conditions under different partial pressures, temperatures and moisture were evaluated. The results showed a reduction in pore characteristics and an increased amount of grafted APS with increasing pressure and temperature after grafting. After grafting in SC-propane at 11.0 MPa and various temperatures for 16 h, a 3–20% increase in the amount of grafted APS and a 6–49% increase in the CO₂ adsorption capacity over the toluene refluxing was observed. The time required for grafting in SC-propane could be reduced while maintaining higher nitrogen content and CO₂ adsorption capacity compared with grafting in toluene refluxing.