High Pressure Fluid Phase Equilibria in Light Solvent/Poly-Alpha-Olefin Systems: A Review

JUAN MANUEL MILANESIO; LIDIA MARÍA QUINZANI; MARCELO SANTIAGO ZABALOY

Foz de Iguazú, Brasil

Conferencia; Primera Conferencia Iberoamericana de Fluidos Supercríticos (PROSCIBA); 2007

Universidad Nacional del Sur - PLAPIQUI - Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto - Universidad de Valladolid, España - UNICAMP, Brasil - Universidad Estadual de Maringá, Brasil - Universidad Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Supercritical fluids (SFs) can be used for polymer processing, fractionation an purification. They can act as suitable media for polymerization processes and as a reaction media in other polymer-related applications, such as polymer conditioning for further use in mixture compatibilization in polymer recycling. The literature on high presure light solvent - polymer systems is quite vast. In this work we present a literature review focusing on the case on non polar or slightly polar light solvent - poly-alpha-olefin systems, mainly at high pressure. We show the review results in a number of tables, wich provide key information on available phase equilibria experimental data. For each record, the table identify: the solvent/s, the poly-alpha-olefin, the ranges for temperature, pressure, molecular weight, polidispersity and polymer mass fraction, and the nature of reported experimental data. The tables also indicate the thermodynamic models used in references wich report experimental data. We briefly discuss the key features of main stream modelling approaches for light solvent - poly-alpha-olefin systems. We also present here, preliminary modelling results corresponding to a new modelling approach applicable to high pressure phase equilibria of polymer-containing systems. This work may be useful to whom is planning to measure or to model the high pressure fluid phase equilibria for light solvent/poly-olefin systems or other related asymmetric systems.