Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid-Phase Equilibria

Chapter 12 High-Pressure Phase Equilibria

Numerous chemical processes operate at high pressures and, primarily for economic reasons, many separation operations (distillation, absorption) are conducted at high pressures; further, phase equilibria at high pressures are of interest in geological exploration, such as in drilling for petroleum and natural gas. While the technical importance of high-pressure phase behavior has been recognized for a long time, quantitative application of thermodynamics toward understanding such behavior was not common until about 1940. In the early days of phase-equilibrium thermodynamics, such an attempt could not be made because of computational complexity; realistic thermodynamic calculations for high-pressure ...