Equilibrium calculations, examples

Results using this technique are better for force helds made to describe geometries away from equilibrium. For example, it is better to use Morse potentials than harmonic potentials to describe bond stretching. Some researchers have created force helds for a specihc reaction. These are made by htting to the potential energy surface obtained from ah initio calculations. This is useful for examining dynamics on the surface, but it is much more work than simply using ah initio methods to hnd a transition structure. 

We are now prepared to use thermodynamics to make chemical equilibrium calculations. The following examples demonstrate some of the possibilities. 

There is a similar expression for polymer activity. However, if the fluid being sorbed by the polymer is a supercritical gas, it is most useful to use chemical potential for phase equilibrium calculations rather than activity. For example, at equilibrium between the fluid phase (gas) and polymer phase, the chemical potential of the gas in the fluid phase is equal to that in the liquid phase. An expression for the equality of chemical potentials is given by Cheng (12). 

Even in relatively concentrated solutions, the mole fraction of water remains close to 1.00. At a solute concentration of 0.50 M, for example, H2 O = 0.99, only 1% different from 1.00. Equilibrium calculations are seldom accurate to better than 5%, so this small deviation from 1.00 can be neglected. Consequently, we treat solvent water just like a pure substance its concentration is essentially invariant, so it is omitted from the equilibrium constant expression. 

For this example, we summarize the first four steps of the method The problem asks for the concentration of ions. Sodium hydroxide is a strong base that dissolves in water to generate Na cations and OH- anions quantitatively. The concentration of hydroxide ion equals the concentration of the base. The water equilibrium links the concentrations of OH" and H3 O" ", so an equilibrium calculation is required to determine the concentration of hydronium ion. What remains is to organize the data, carry out the calculations, and check for reasonableness. 

Examples through illustrate the two main types of equilibrium calculations as they apply to solutions of acids and bases. Notice that the techniques are the same as those introduced in Chapter 16 and applied to weak acids in Examples and. We can calculate values of equilibrium constants from a knowledge of concentrations at equilibrium (Examples and), and we can calculate equilibrium concentrations from a knowledge of equilibrium constants and initial concentrations (Examples, and ). 

This expression provides the basis for vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations on the basis of liquid-phase activity coefficient models. In Equation 4.27, thermodynamic models are required for cf>y (from an equation of state) and y, from a liquid-phase activity coefficient model. Some examples will be given later. At moderate pressures, the vapor phase becomes ideal, as discussed previously, and fj = 1. For... 

In the case of vapor-liquid equilibrium, the vapor and liquid fugacities are equal for all components at the same temperature and pressure, but how can this solution be found In any phase equilibrium calculation, some of the conditions will be fixed. For example, the temperature, pressure and overall composition might be fixed. The task is to find values for the unknown conditions that satisfy the equilibrium relationships. However, this cannot be achieved directly. First, values of the unknown variables must be guessed and checked to see if the equilibrium relationships are satisfied. If not, then the estimates must be modified in the light of the discrepancy in the equilibrium, and iteration continued until the estimates of the unknown variables satisfy the requirements of equilibrium. 

A number of textbooks and review articles are available which provide background and more-general simulation techniques for fluids, beyond the calculations of the present chapter. In particular, the book by Frenkel and Smit [1] has comprehensive coverage of molecular simulation methods for fluids, with some emphasis on algorithms for phase-equilibrium calculations. General review articles on simulation methods and their applications - e.g., [2-6] - are also available. Sections 10.2 and 10.3 of the present chapter were adapted from [6]. The present chapter also reviews examples of the recently developed flat-histogram approaches described in Chap. 3 when applied to phase equilibria. 

Most free energy and phase-equilibrium calculations by simulation up to the late 1980s were performed with the Widom test particle method [7]. The method is still appealing in its simplicity and generality - for example, it can be applied directly to MD calculations without disturbing the time evolution of a system. The potential distribution theorem on which the test particle method is based as well as its applications are discussed in Chap. 9. 

In contrast to the Gibbs ensemble discussed later in this chapter, a number of simulations are required per coexistence point, but the number can be quite small, especially for vapor-liquid equilibrium calculations away from the critical point. For example, for a one-component system near the triple point, the density of the dense liquid can be obtained from a single NPT simulation at zero pressure. The chemical potential of the liquid, in turn, determines the density of the (near-ideal) vapor phase so that only one simulation is required. The method has been extended to mixtures [12, 13]. Significantly lower statistical uncertainties were obtained in [13] compared to earlier Gibbs ensemble calculations of the same Lennard-Jones binary mixtures, but the NPT + test particle method calculations were based on longer simulations. 

As an example of an equilibrium calculation accounting for surface complexation, we consider the sorption of mercury, lead, and sulfate onto hydrous ferric oxide at pH 4 and 8. We use ferric hydroxide [Fe(OH)3] precipitate from the LLNL database to represent in the calculation hydrous ferric oxide (FeOOH /1H2O). Following Dzombak and Morel (1990), we assume a sorbing surface area of 600 m2 g-1 and site densities for the weakly and strongly binding sites, respectively, of 0.2 and 0.005 mol (mol FeOOH)-1. We choose a system containing 1 kg of solvent water (the default) in contact with 1 g of ferric hydroxide. 

In this first example, a single-component system consisting of a liquid and a gas phase is considered. If the surface between the two phases is curved, the equilibrium conditions will depart from the situation for a flat surface used in most equilibrium calculations. At equilibrium the chemical potentials in both phases are equal ... 

This book systematically summarizes the researches on electrochemistry of sulphide flotation in our group. The various electrochemical measurements, especially electrochemical corrosive method, electrochemical equilibrium calculations, surface analysis and semiconductor energy band theory, practically, molecular orbital theory, have been used in our studies and introduced in this book. The collectorless and collector-induced flotation behavior of sulphide minerals and the mechanism in various flotation systems have been discussed. The electrochemical corrosive mechanism, mechano-electrochemical behavior and the molecular orbital approach of flotation of sulphide minerals will provide much new information to the researchers in this area. The example of electrochemical flotation separation of sulphide ores listed in this book will demonstrate the good future of flotation electrochemistry of sulphide minerals in industrial applications. 

It is also worthwhile to make some distinctions between methods of calculating phase equilibrium. For many years, equilibrium constants have been used to express the abundance of certain species in terms of the amounts of other arbitrarily chosen species, see for example Brinkley (1946,1947), Kandliner and Brinkley (1950) and Krieger and White (1948). Such calculations suffer significant disadvantages in that some prior knowledge of potential reactions is often necessary, and it is difficult to analyse the effect of complex reactions involving many species on a particular equilibrium reaction. Furthermore, unless equilibrium constants are defined for all possible chemical reactions, a true equilibrium calculation caiuiot be made and, in the case of a reaction with 50 or 60 substances present, the number of possible reactions is massive. 

This chapter has shown many examples of the use of CALPHAD methods, ranging from an unusual application in a binary system, through complex equilibrium calculations to calculations for 10-component alloy systems. In all cases the use of CALPHAD methods has enhanced the understanding of processes, clearly defined alloy behaviour and provided vital information for other models, etc. It is also clear that equilibrium calculations can be used in many different areas and under a surprising number of different conditions. For numerous reasons, modelling will never completely replace experimental measurement. However, die quantitative verification of the accuracy of CALPHAD calculations now means that they can be seriously considered as an information source which can be used as an alternative to experimental measurement in a number of areas and can also enhance interpretation of experimental results. 

Using this equation, the ratio of the fluid volume to the solid mass needed to achieve a desired fluid-phase equilibrium concentration (X) can be calculated. We can achieve a lower liquid-phase concentration level by using a lower Vim ratio, using, for example, a higher amount of solid. Thus, equilibrium calculations result in the maximum V/m ratio that should be used to achieve the desired equilibrium (final) concentration. But, how much time do we need to achieve our goal in a batch reactor This is a question to be answered by kinetics. 

A variety of other thermodynamic functions may be evaluated from this. For example, the chemical potential — the quantity equalized in equilibrium calculations — of species / in a multi-component system is given by... 

Cyclization to five-membered rings forms the alkylindans and indenes cyclization to six-membered rings gives tetralins and naphthalenes. Tetralins and decalins, however, were not observed in any of the experiments, because of unfavorable equilibrium. For example, less than 0.02-0.1% tetralin and less than 0.001% decalins would be expected if they were in equilibrium with the naphthalene formed in the n-butylbenzene experiments. [Equilibrium conversions calculated from the data of Egan (15), Allam and Vlugter (16), and Frye and Weitkamp (17)]... 

In other cases, the equation for x in terms of K may be quite complicated. One approach to solving the equation is to use a computer or the equilibrium calculator on the CD that accompanies this text. The alternative is to look for an approximate solution. One approximation technique can greatly simplify calculations when the change in molar concentration (x) is less than about 5% of the initial concentrations. To use it, assume that x is negligible when added to or subtracted from a number. Thus, we can replace all expressions like A — x or A — lx, for example, by A. When x occurs on its own (not added to or subtracted from another number), it is left unchanged. So, an expression like (0.1 — 2x)2x simplifies to (0.1 )2x. At the end of the calculation, it is important to verify that the calculated value of x is indeed smaller than about 5% of the initial values. If it is, then the approximation is valid. If not, then we must solve the equation without making an approximation. The approximation procedure is illustrated in Example 9.10. 

More refined continuum models—for example, the well-known Fumi-Tosi potential with a soft core and a term for attractive van der Waals interactions [172]—have received little attention in phase equilibrium calculations [51]. Refined potentials are, however, vital when specific ion-ion or ion-solvent interactions in electrolyte solutions affect the phase stability. One can retain the continuum picture in these cases by using modified solvent-averaged potentials—for example, the so-called Friedman-Gumey potentials [81, 168, 173]. Specific interactions are then represented by additional terms in (pap(r) that modify the ion distribution in the desired way. Finally, there are models that account for the discrete molecular nature of the solvent—for example, by modeling the solvent as dipolar hard spheres [174, 175]. 

Here spr is the projected entropy of an ideal mixture. The first term appearing in it, p0 = J dop a), is the zeroth moment, which is identical to the overall particle density p defined previously. If this is among the moment densities used for the projection (or more generally, if it is a linear combination of them), then the term — Tp0 is simply a linear contribution to the projected free energy/pr(p,) and can be dropped because it does not affect phase equilibrium calculations. Otherwise, p0 needs to be expressed—via the A —as a function of the pit and its contribution cannot be ignored. We will see an example of this in Section V. 

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