Influence of viscosity on the thermodiffusion process in hydrocarbon mixtures

Ternary hydrocarbon mixtures of methane, n-dodecane, and n-butane, flown aboard the spacecraft FOTON M3 were studied to understand the influence of viscosity of the components on the thermodiffusion process. Accordingly, simulations were made in which viscosity was defined as a function of temperature. Thermal diffusion coefficients (D T) from 328 to 338 K were obtained. These results were compared to the D T values from the simulations in which viscosity was kept constant in this temperature range. The variable viscosity cases showed larger variations in D T than the constant viscosity cases for changes in temperature. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering (Montréal, Quebec, Canada 8/23-27/2009).