The Full Pressure–Temperature Phase Envelope of a Mixture in 1000 Microfluidic Chambers

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 56; no. 45; pp. 13962 - 13967
• Main Authors: Xu, Yi, Riordon, Jason, Cheng, Xiang, Bao, Bo, Sinton, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 06.11.2017
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: analytical methods; Chambers; Critical point; Microfluidics; microreactors; Phase diagrams; Pressure; sensors; Temperature effects; thermodynamics; thermodynamics; sensors; phase diagrams; analytical methods; microreactors
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201708238

Knowing the thermodynamic state of complex mixtures—liquid, gas, supercritical or two‐phase—is essential to industrial chemical processes. Traditionally, phase diagrams are compiled piecemeal from individual measurements in a pressure–volume–temperature cell performed in series, where each point is subject to a long fluid equilibrium time. Herein, 1000 microfluidic chambers, each isolated by a liquid piston and set to a different pressure and temperature combination, provide the complete pressure–temperature phase diagram of a hydrocarbon mixture at once, including the thermodynamic phase envelope. Measurements closely match modeled values, with a standard deviation of 0.13 MPa between measurement and model for the dew and bubble point lines, and a difference of 0.04 MPa and 0.25 °C between measurement and model for the critical point. 1000‐in‐one experiment: A series of 1000 microfluidic chambers isolated and pressurized by liquid pistons operate in parallel to measure the thermodynamic state of a complex mixture in a single experiment. The dew and bubble point lines, liquid volume lines, and critical point are measured quickly and at high resolution.