Diffusivities of dissolved substances in water have been correlated by Wilke and Chang ( 1935), Scheibel ( 1954), and O t h e r and Thakar (1953). These correlations have proven to be fairly reliable yielding similar, but by no means identical, results, Othmer and Thakar:Wilke and Chang:( 2 ) 7.4(10-8) (2.6 M2)0.5 T P2v1°.6 0 1 2 = Scheibel:All three correlations were developed from data largely obtained prior to 1950 and included that from the International Critical Tables (1929) and the work of Arnold ( 1930). Reid and Sherwood (1966) analyzed these correlations for water as solvent and found that all three gave identical average absolute errors of 11%. It is noted, though, that the analysis was based on diffusivities of some 37 substances of which 15 were obtained from the International Critical Tables. It appeared of considerable interest, therefore, to determine the extent to which the correlations were still applicable in the light of the large number of diffusivities reported since 1950. For the purpose of mathematically testing the three correlations, only data appearing in the literature since 1950 were compiled. In some instances even relatively recent data were judged inaccurate when compared with those of other workers and were/excluded. The mathematical analysis initially took the form of determining average errors between measured diffusivities and those estimated from the three correlations.Subsequently it was possible to propose new constants for the Othmer-Thakar equation, and a new value for the association parameter for the Wilke-Chang equation when applied to water as solvent. The revised Othmer-Thakar equation based on diffusivities of some 87 different dissolved substances in dilute aqueous solutions is 13.26( Dl2 = P21.4V 0.589
(4)The revised association parameter for water of 2.26 instead of 2.6 is likewise recommended for use in the WilkeChang equation.Also reported in this work are the diffusivities of vinyl chloride monomer in water which were measured at atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 25", 50", and 75°C
EXPERIMENTDistilled water and vinyl chloride having a specified minimum purity of 99.9% purchased krom llatheson of Canada, were used in these experiments. The calculation of diffusivity depended on a knowledge of equilibrium solubilities of vinyl chloride in water which have been measured in this laboratory and reported elsewhere (Hayduk and Laudie, 1974).Integral binary diffusivities were calculated from the steady state rate of shrinkage ok the gas confined within the capillaries of the diffusion cell. The equilibrium concentration at atmospheric pressure was sufficiently low, l e s than 0.002 mole fraction, so that the integral diffusivity was considered to approximate the diffusivity at infinite dilution. The appropriate equation for calculating the diffusivity for solutions of constant mass concentration was
(5)The mass flux, length of diffusion path, and solution density (taken as solvent density) were measured or were readily calculated. The vinyl chloride concentrati...