Interfacial tension was measured for hexane + water, heptane + water, octane + water, nonane + water, decane + water, undecane + water, and dodecane + water, using the emergent drop experimental technique with a numerical method based on a fourth degree spline interpolation of the drop profile. The experimental equipment used to generate the drop consists of a cell with a stainless steel body and two Pyrex windows. The inner cell was previously filled with water. A surgical needle (at the bottom of the cell) was used to introduce the organic phase into the cell (forming the emergent drop). Water was used to keep the temperature constant inside the cell (between 10 °C and 60 °C). The cell was illuminated from the back using a fiber optic lamp and a diffuser. A video camera (with a 60 mm microlens and an extension ring) was located at the front window. The emergent drop image was captured and sent to the video recording system. The cell and the optical components were placed on an optical table with vibration isolation legs. A new correlation was found to predict interfacial tension (γ) as a function of temperature (t) and the number of carbon atoms (n) with a deviation of less than 0.05% from experimental values.

The objective of this work was to determine Fick diffusion coefficients in CO2/n-alkane binary mixtures without experimental test. For doing so, Maxwell-Stefan (MS) diffusivity was calculated by molecular simulation. Simultaneously, a thermodynamic factor was estimated using the PC-SAFT (perturbed chain statistical associating fluid theory) equation of state (eos). The binary Fick diffusivities are calculated as the product of both quantities. The binary mixtures investigated contain CO2 and various n-alkanes (nC10, nC16, nC22, nC28, nC44), at their bubble pressure at varying temperatures between 298 and 373 K. The calculated values of Fick diffusivities were compared against the experimental ones for the systems where literature data exist. An average deviation of 26% was found for the CO2/n-decane and 15% for CO2/n-hexadecane mixtures. These results support that molecular simulation can be employed as a tool for the determination of Fick diffusivities in high pressure systems, like in oil reservoirs, without the need to construct a complicated and expensive experimental setup. This method only requires the phase behavior of the desired system, and it can be used for multicomponent mixtures. As an example, predictions of Fick diffusivities were done for CO2 binary mixtures with heavy n-alkanes (nC22, nC28, nC44).

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