Viscosity modeling of associating fluids based on the friction theory: pure alcohols

Abstract

In this work, the friction theory ( f- theory) has been extended to the accurate viscosity modeling of the following alcohols: methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, 2-propanol, n-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-2-propanol, 1,2-ethanediol, and 1,2-propanediol up to high pressure and, in some cases, over wide temperature ranges. The modeling results are within the experimental uncertainty (±2%), satisfactorily and appropriate for most industrial applications. In spite of the fact that alcohols are associating fluids, this accurate viscosity modeling is achieved in conjunction with the simple Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) and Peng and Robinson (PR) equations of state (EOS). Based on these EOS, the viscosity approach presented in this work preserves the accuracy that the f- theory models have previously shown for n-alkanes.