Thermodynamics of alkane solutions

An apparatus for static vapour pressure measurements on pure liquids and on binary and ternary mixtures containing one involatile component has been designed and constructed. The apparatus and corresponding experimental techniques have been tested and experimental errors have been discussed. Measurements have been made of the vapour pressures of binary mixtures of n-hexane + n-hexadecane at 298.15 K and 303.15 K and of binary mixtures of n-hexane + n-octane, n-octane + n-hexadecane, and ternary mixtures of n-hexane + n-octane + n-hexadecane at 298.15 K. The experimental measurements of pressures (P) vs mole fractions (x) have been fitted to the Redlich-Kister equation by Barker's method to obtain activity coefficients of each component in the liquid phase, the excess Gibbs functions, and the mole fractions in the vapour phase. The results for n-hexane + n-hexadecane at 303.15 K have been compared with those of previous work (Williamson, 1957) and the agreement is reasonably good. The excess volumes of n-hexane +benzene, n-dodecane + 2-methylpentane and pseudo n-dodecane prepared from equimolar numbers of n-decane + n-tetradecane + each of four branched hexane isomers at 298.15 K have been obtained from measurements of the densities of pure compounds and mixtures with a vibrating tube densimeter. Two methods for preparation of mixtures of which densities are required to be accurately measured have been designed and compared with each other. The excess enthalpies of 2-methylpentane with n-dodecane and with each of three pseudo n-dodecanes prepared from equimolar mixtures of n-decane + n-tetradecane, n-undecane + n-tridecane, and n-octane + n-hexadecane, and the excess enthalpies of equimolar decane + tetradecane mixture with each of the other three branched hexane isomers at 298.15 K have been measured with an isothermal displacement calorimeter. The experimental results of binary mixtures have been discussed in term of the principle of congruence with Hijmans' graphical method and Bellemans and Mat's analytical formula. New graphical tests of the principle of congruence and a modified Bellemans and Mat equation for ternary mixtures have been developed and applied to the experimental p-x data of ternary systems. The agreement between the experimental values and those predicted by the principle are excellent. The modified Bellemans and Mat equation seems to be more powerful than and preferable to the Redlich-Kister equation for the systems investigated in this work