Volumetric properties of pressure-transmitting fluids up to 350 MPa: Water, ethanol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, castor oil, silicon oil, and some of their binary mixture

Abstract

High-pressure processes carried at low or high temperatures often require the use of pressure-transmitting fluids (PTFs) other than water. Optimization of those processes involves their numerical simulation. The mathematical model used for that purpose depends on the physical properties of the PTF which vary with both pressure and temperature. The purpose of this work was to study the volumetric properties of different PTFs and evaluate how different they were from those of water. Castor oil, silicon oil, propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, and ethanol specific volumes were determined between (273.15 and 313.15) K and up to 350 MPa, individually and in a mixture with water or ethanol. The thermal expansion coefficient and the isothermal compressibility were derived from those measurements. The volumetric properties of all of the PTFs showed a behavior with pressure and temperature different from that of water. Specific volumes of the binary mixtures of these fluids were predicted within 3 % on a relative basis. These results will be useful in particular for modeling and to select the PTF that best fits with a given application. © 2010 American Chemical Society.