It is demonstrated that thermal and mutual diffusivities of binary mixtures of n-octacosane (n-C28H58) with carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and water (H2O) are simultaneously accessible by dynamic light scattering (DLS). As the light-scattering signals originating from thermal and concentration fluctuations appear in similar time scales, different data evaluation strategies were tested to achieve minimum uncertainties in the resulting transport properties. To test the agreement of the respective theoretical model with the DLS signals in the regression, an improved multifit procedure is introduced. With the selected data evaluation strategy, uncertainties of 4 to 15% and 4 to 30% in the thermal and mutual diffusivities, respectively, could be obtained for the binary mixtures. The mutual diffusivities for the mixtures measured at temperatures ranging from 398 to 523 K and pressures of 5 to 30 bar at saturation conditions are in good agreement with molecular dynamics simulations and data from the literature.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are promising solvents for gas separation processes such as carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from flue gases. For the design of corresponding processes and apparatus, thermophysical properties of ILs containing dissolved gases are required. In the present study, it is demonstrated that with a single optical setup, mutual and thermal diffusivities as well as refractive indices can be measured quasi-simultaneously for such mixtures. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) from bulk fluids was applied to determine mutual and thermal diffusivities for mixtures of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide ([BMIM][C(CN)3]) or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate ([BMIM][B(CN)4]) with dissolved CO2 at temperatures from 303.15 to 333.15 K and pressures between 2 and 26 bar in macroscopic thermodynamic equilibrium. Good agreement with literature data and only slight differences between the diffusivities measured for the two systems at the same temperature and comparable mole fractions of CO2 were found. Increasing mutual diffusivities with increasing mole fractions of CO2 are consistent with decreasing viscosities reported for other IL-CO2 mixtures in the literature and can be attributed to weakening of molecular interactions by the dissolved gas. For the conditions studied, no dependence of the thermal diffusivity on the temperature or the mole fraction of CO2 could be found.

The present work represents a continuation of a former study where the simultaneous determination of thermal and mutual diffusivity for binary mixtures of n-octacosane (n-C28H58) with dissolved carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), or water (H2O) by using dynamic light scattering (DLS) was demonstrated. Here, the same properties are studied for binary mixtures of the n-alkanes n-dodecane (n-C12H26) or n-tetracontane (n-C40H82) with dissolved CO, H2, or H2O. In most cases, expanded relative uncertainties (k = 2) ranging from 2 to 12 % and 3 to 25 % for the thermal and mutual diffusivities could be obtained. The experimental mutual diffusivities for mixtures of n-C12H26 with CO, H2, or H2O measured at temperatures from 398 to 524 K and pressures from 0.2 to 4.2 MPa at saturation conditions agree well with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using atomistic models and with experimental data from literature. Binary mixtures of n-C40H82 with dissolved CO, H2, or H2O were investigated in a temperature range from 447 to 498 K and pressures from 0.3 to 3.9 MPa. For mixtures with n-C40H82, the accessible temperature range was limited due to a change in the optical characteristics of the sample at elevated temperatures where DLS measurements suffered from absorption effects and particle scattering.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are possible working fluids for the separation of carbon dioxide (CO2) from flue gases. For evaluating their performance in such processes, reliable mutual-diffusivity data are required for mixtures of ILs with relevant flue gas components. In the present study, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used for the investigation of the molecular diffusion in binary mixtures of the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate ([EMIM][B(CN)4]) with the dissolved gases carbon dioxide, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide at temperatures from 298.15 to 363.15 K and pressures up to 63 bar. At conditions approaching infinite dilution of a gas, the Fick mutual diffusivity of the mixture measured by DLS and the self-diffusivity of the corresponding gas calculated by MD simulations match, which could be generally found within combined uncertainties. The obtained diffusivities are in agreement with literature data for the same or comparable systems as well as with the general trend of increasing diffusivities for decreasing IL viscosities. The DLS and MD results reveal distinctly larger molecular diffusivities for [EMIM][B(CN)4]-hydrogen mixtures compared to mixtures with all other gases. This behavior results in the failure of an empirical correlation with the molar volumes of the gases at their normal boiling points. The DLS experiments also showed that there is no noticeable influence of the dissolved gas and temperature on the thermal diffusivity of the studied systems.

Theoretical approaches suggest that dynamic light scattering (DLS) signals from low-molecular-weight ternary mixtures are governed by fluctuations in temperature as well as two individual contributions from fluctuations in concentration that are related to the eigenvalues of the Fick diffusion matrix. Until now, this could not be proven experimentally in a conclusive way. In the present study, a detailed analysis of DLS signals in ternary mixtures consisting of n-dodecane (n-CH) and n-octacosane (n-CH) with dissolved hydrogen (H), carbon monoxide (CO), or water (HO) as well as of n-CH or n-CH with dissolved H and CO is given for temperatures up to 523 K and pressures up to 4.1 MPa. Thermal diffusivities of pure n-CH and n-CH as well as thermal and mutual diffusivities of their binary mixtures being the basis for the ternary mixtures with dissolved gas were studied for comparison purposes. For the investigated ternary mixtures, three individual signals could be distinguished in the time-resolved analysis of scattered light intensity by using photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). For the first time, it could be evidenced that these signals are clearly associated with hydrodynamic modes. In most cases, the fastest mode observable for ternary mixtures is associated with the thermal diffusivity. The two further modes obviously related to the molecular mass transport are observable on different time scales and comparable to the modes associated with the concentration fluctuations in the respective binary mixtures. Comparison of the experimental data with results from molecular dynamics simulations revealed very good agreement.