Vapor–liquid equilibrium of methane and methane + nitrogen and an equimolar hexane + decane mixture under isothermal conditions

Abstract

Experimental vapor–liquid equilibrium data of the ternary system composed of methane and an equimolar hexane + decane mixture are reported. The experimental measurements were carried out under isothermal conditions at 258, 273, and 298 K in the pressure range 1–19 MPa. Also, experimental vapor–liquid measurements were carried out for the quaternary system methane + nitrogen and an equimolar hexane + decane mixture, at 258 K in the range 3.5–12 MPa. The results for the ternary system show that the solubility of methane in the equimolar mixture of alkanes increases when the pressure is increased at constant temperature and it increases as the temperature decreases in the whole pressure range studied. For the quaternary system with a constant amount of nitrogen, the solubility of methane in the liquid phase increases as the pressure increases at the studied temperature. The experimental results for the ternary system were satisfactorily correlated with the Peng–Robinson equation of state in the ranges of pressure and temperature studied. The equation of state was used to predict the behavior of the quaternary system using binary interaction parameters. The applicability of the principle of congruence was corroborated by comparing the vapor–liquid behavior of methane in the equimolar hexane + decane mixture with that in pure octane, at the three temperatures studied in this work.