Predicting the approximate solubilities of solids in dense carbon dioxide

The aim of this paper is the prediction of solid solubilities in supercriti cal fluids (SCF) on an order-of-magnitude basis. A further aim is to clarif y some of the computational aspects of the Boublik and Mansoori equations f or the perturbed hard-sphere used in the estimation of solubility. Modellin g the solubilities of heavy hydrocarbons and other organics provides an ave rage value for the pair-potential integral function a(12). The latter varie s by only +/- 30% from one solute to the other over relatively wide ranges of pressure (P) and temperature (T). Thus, it is possible to use a mean val ue to estimate approximate solubilities in SCF, which are useful in some st ages of engineering work where order-of-magnitude data is sufficient. On th e other hand, the (one-parameter) Peng-Robinson equation of state with the interaction parameter optimized for each solute gives no clear guidance. (C ) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.