SOLUBILITIES OF SOLID POLYNUCLEAR AROMATICS (PNAS) IN SUPERCRITICAL ETHYLENE AND ETHANE FROM STATISTICAL ASSOCIATING FLUID THEORY (SAFT) - TOWARD SEPARATING PNAS BY SIZE AND STRUCTURE

Statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) is used to calculate solubilities of solid polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PNA's), such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and anthracene, in supercritical ethylene and supercritical ethane. Good agreement with experimental data is obtained at temperatures from 12 to 75-degrees-C and at pressures up to 550 bar. Only one binary adjustable parameter is needed, which has a simple linear temperature dependence. The SAFT model is applied to predicting selectivities and capacities of supercritical ethane and ethylene for separating PNA's by size and structure.