Measurements and predictions of density and carbon dioxide solubility in binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane

The solubility of carbon dioxide (CO2) in binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane has been measured using an in-house developed pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) apparatus at pressures up to 6 MPa and two different temperatures (303.2 and 323.2 K). Three different binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane were prepared, and the densities of the prepared mixtures were measured over the studied pressure and temperature ranges. The experimental data of CO2 solubility in the prepared mixtures and their saturated liquid densities were then reported at each temperature and pressure. The solubility data indicated that the gas solubility reduced as the ethanol mole fraction in the liquid mixture increased. The dissolution of CO2 in the liquid mixtures resulted in the increase in the saturated liquid densities. The impact of gas dissolution on the saturated liquid densities was more pronounced at the lower temperature and lower ethanol compositions. The experimental solubility and density data were compared with the results of two cubic equations of state (EOSs), Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) and Peng–Robinson (PR). The modeling results demonstrated that both EOSs could predict the solubility data well, while the saturated liquid densities calculated with the PR EOS were much better than those predicted with the SRK EOS.

► Solubility of CO2 in the binary mixtures of ethanol and n-decane and their saturated liquid densities. ► Experimental measurements at (303.2 and 323.2) K over the pressure range (1–6) MPa. ► The results indicate that the solubility decreased as the ethanol mole fraction in liquid phase increased. ► The solubility and density data were correlated with two cubic equations of state. ► The correlation of density data requires the application of volume translation for CO2 component.