THE VISCOSITY OF GASEOUS ETHANE AND ITS INITIAL DENSITY DEPENDENCE

New high-precision measurements of the viscosity-eta of gaseous ethane from near room temperature up to 630 K and at densities between 0.3 and 1.6 kg-m-3 and between 0.01 and 0.05 mol.L-1, respectively, carried out in an all-quartz oscillating-disk viscometer with small gaps are reported. The data for the viscosity of ethane at 0.1013 MPa are in good agreement with other high-precision experimental data from literature near room temperature. Additionally, the new experimental data were used to create an individual correlation of the zero-density viscosity coefficient. Only positive values with a maximum in the middle of the temperature range were found for the second viscosity virial coefficient B(eta). These results corroborate the Rainwater-Friend (1984) theory and the recent investigation by Bich and Vogel (1991).