PREFACE We
had two goals in organizing this conference.
T h e first was to
* * provide a forum for state-of-the-art reviews of an area of chemical engineering often referred to as "thermodynamics and physical properDownloaded by KAOHSIUNG MEDICAL UNIV on May 7, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 1, 1977 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1977-0060.pr001
ties." T h e reviews should represent the work of both the academic researcher and the industrial practitioner. This we thought was both necessary and timely because there were obvious dislocations between the current needs of the industrial chemical engineer and the research being done at universities, on the one hand, and the slow acceptance of new theoretical tools by the industrial people on the other. Our second objective was, through these reviews and the ensuing discussion, to develop a collection of research objectives for the next decade. W e asked the session reporters to try to identify the important research problems that were suggested in the presentations and discussions of the sessions, as well as to set down their thoughts in this regard. In this way, the major papers in this volume summarize the current state of research and industrial practice, while the reporter's summaries provide a listing of important questions and research areas that need attention now. T h e conference was attended by 135 engineers and scientists from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
They represented, in almost
equal numbers, the industrial and academic sectors. Recognized authorities, presently active in physical properties work, were chosen to be speakers, panel members, session reporters and session chairmen. T h e conference was held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds on the Monterey Penninsula of California, the beautiful setting matched by idyllic weather.
W e have tried to give an accurate account of the material
presented at the conference sessions, but the printed word cannot reflect the friendships that were established nor the extent of the academioindustrial dialogue which was initiated. Similarly, the unusual enthusiasm of the conference is not reflected here. Indeed, this enthusiasm was so great that there were six ad-hoc sessions, continuations of scheduled sessions and meetings packed into the four sunny afternoons of the meeting. Many important areas of work were identified as needing further attention during the next decade.
Several obvious to us (in no special
order) are listed below: • It was generally agreed that nine out of 10 requests for data by
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design engineers were for vapor-liquid equilbrium or mixture enthalpy data. Reduction to field-level practice of either data banks or estimating procedures to supply this information would be very useful. • Significant progress has been made on the group contribution methods for estimating phase equilibrium data. Further development of these procedures is clearly justified. • Perturbation methods based on theory from physics and chemistry, electronic computer simulation studies, and careful comparisons with real fluid behavior are moving quickly toward producing an effective Downloaded by KAOHSIUNG MEDICAL UNIV on May 7, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 1, 1977 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1977-0060.pr001
equation of state for liquids. These efforts are in the hands of the theoretician today, but further development and reduction to practice should be explored. • F l u i d transport properties were not the primary concern at this conference, but progress was also shown here.
Remarkable agreement
between prediction and experiment for viscosities and thermal conductivities of gaseous mixtures was reported.
Clearly, much work needs to
be done, especially for liquids. • Real difficulties remain when attempts are made to predict, to extrapolate, or even to interpolate data for multicomponent mixtures containing hydrocarbons, alcohols, acids, etc.
Such systems were affection-
ately identified as a "Krolikowski mess" at the conference.
Multicom-
ponent mixtures of this kind may include more than one liquid and/or solid phase and with components that "commit chemistry" as well as physically distribute between the phases are commonly encountered in industrial practice. from
nightmare
to
T h e goal for the future is to reduce these problems headache
proportions
in industrial applications,
though they may continue to remain an enigma for the theoretician. • Cries for more experimental data were often heard. Special needs include high pressure vapor-liquid equilibrium data; data on several properties for mixtures with very light, volatile components in heavy hydrocarbon mixtures; ionic solutions; acid gases in hydrocarbons; and certainly more emphasis on mixtures containing aromatic hydrocarbons. Data with intrinsic value for design work and accurate enough for discriminating theoretical comparisons should have high priority.
Signifi-
cantly, several conferees stated that their primary sources of new experimental data are rapidly shifting to laboratories outside the United States. A n important measure of the success of a conference is its long-term impact.
It remains to be seen whether this conference results in any
permanent interchange of ideas between academic and industrial engineers and whether the ideas expressed influence research in the coming years.
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A cknou/ledgments This volume is based on the Engineering Foundation Conference, "The Estimation and Correlation of Phase Equilibria and F l u i d Properties in the Chemical Industry," convened at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, C A , on Jan. 16-21, 1977. T h e views presented here are not necessarily those of the Engineering Foundation, 345 East 47th St., New York, N.Y. 10017. T h e advice, financial and moral support, and the concern for local arrangements, publicity, registration by Sandford Cole, Harold Commerer, Dean Benson and their staff permitted us Downloaded by KAOHSIUNG MEDICAL UNIV on May 7, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 1, 1977 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1977-0060.pr001
to concentrate on the technical aspects of the meeting. Manuscript typing was done by the University of Missouri, Stenographic Services Department. Major funding for the conference by the National Science Foundation was a key ingredient in its success. These funds made it possible for many American and European academicians to attend who would have been otherwise unable to participate.
T h e interest and support of
Marshall L i h and William Weigand of the National Science Foundation were especially appreciated. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers made important contributions by co-sponsoring and publicizing the conference. W e also thank the members of the Organizing Committee: Stanley Adler, Pullman-Kellogg Co.; Howard Hanley of the National Bureau of Standards; Robert Reid of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and L y m a n Yarborough of the Amoco Production C o . They brought focus and structure to the general concept of the conference we brought to them. Finally, and most important we thank the speakers, session reporters, and chairman who d i d their work diligently and in the best scientific tradition; and the conferees for their enthusiastic participation and important discussion contributions that made this conference special. T. S. STORVICK
STANLEY I. SANDLER
University of Missouri—Columbia
University of Delaware
June 1977
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