Volatilisation rate of pure and mixed flammable liquids: Examples of diethyl ether and nitromethane

Abstract

Volatilisation theoretically occurs at the liquid level. Volatilisation rates were computed considering the weight reduction measured in experiments conducted to clarify the influencing factors and trends of volatilisation. Influencing factors and influencing laws of liquid volatilisation were analysed. New temperature corrections were used to modify Mackay’s theory. Numerous factors affect the volatilisation rate, the surface temperature and airflow rate accelerated liquid volatilisation. The experimental results indicated that the temperature correction coefficient was 0.059 for diethyl ether and 0.229 for nitromethane. The experiments performed using different ratios of diethyl ether/nitromethane mixed liquids, combined with the influencing factors and laws of the single-component volatilisation rate, demonstrated that the volatilisation rate of the mixed liquid was proportional to the weighted average of the volatilisation rates of components. The coefficient was measured to be 1.86. The coefficient was above 1, indicating that liquid mixing accelerates the volatilisation of the liquid.