Comparison of the critical liquid volume fraction to rectilinear-diameter methods for prediction of the critical density of ethylene and oxygen

Abstract

A comparison of the prediction of the critical density for ethylene and oxygen from available coexistence density values using three methods is presented. The conventional rectilinear diameter, the rectilinear diameter with an additional term to represent the postulated curvature near the critical point, and the critical liquid volume fraction were each utilized to predict critical density values for ethylene and oxygen. The correlating functions and fitted constants for the three techniques are given for different ranges of saturation density values. The accepted saturation lines for ethylene and oxygen calculated from new correlations of thermodynamic properties for these fluids were used in this study. The critical density of ethylene was predicted using coexistence density values from 220 to 230 K and from 220 to 282.34 K. Similarly, the critical density for oxygen was predicted using coexistence densities from 100 to 116 K, from 100 to 154.004 K, and from 100 to 154.571 K. Values of the critical density predicted using the three methods are compared with the accepted critical density values for these fluids. The ability of the three methods to predict accurate critical density values using saturation densities at temperatures removed from the critical point is assessed.