Journal of Supercritical Fluids, Vol.58, No.3, 330-342, 2011
Phase equilibria of branched isomers of C-10-alcohols and C-10-alkanes in supercritical ethane
Phase equilibrium data is presented for binary systems of C-10-alcohol isomers (1-decanol, 2-decanol, 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol, 2.6-dimethyl-2-octanol and 3,7-dimethyl-3-octanol) and C-10-alkane isomers (n-decane, 2-methylnonane, 3-methylnonane and 4-methylnonane) with supercritical ethane. The measurements were conducted in a high pressure view cell at temperatures from 308 K to 348 K and compositions from 0.0120 to 0.662 mass fraction C-10-compound. It was found that the position of the hydroxyl group and the presence of methyl branches have a large influence on the solubility of the C-10-alcohol isomers. The closer the hydroxyl group is positioned to the centre of the molecule, the less polar the compound, and the more soluble it is in the non-polar solvent. The presence of methyl branches also increases the solubility of the alcohol, possibly due to the shielding it provides to the hydroxyl group. The phase transition pressures of the compounds decreased in the following order: 1-decanol, 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol, 2-decanol, 2,6-dimethyl-2-octanol, 3,7-dimethyl-3-octanol, n-decane and its isomers. The phase transition pressures of the isomers of n-decane did not differ significantly from one another within the temperature and composition range studied. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.