Group contribution Flory model

These three approaches have found widespread application to a large variety of systems and equilibria types ranging from vapor-liquid equilibria for binary and multicomponent polymer solutions, blends, and copolymers, liquid-liquid equilibria for polymer solutions and blends, solid-liquid-liquid equilibria, and solubility of gases in polymers, to mention only a few. In some cases, the results are purely predictive in others interaction parameters are required and the models are capable of correlating (describing) the experimental information. In Section 16.7, we attempt to summarize and comparatively discuss the performance of these three approaches. We attempt there, for reasons of completion, to discuss the performance of a few other (mostly) predictive models such as the group-contribution lattice fluid and the group-contribution Flory equations of state, which are not extensively discussed separately. 

The UNIFAC (Unified quasi chemical theory of liquid mixtures Functional-group Activity Coefficients) group-contribution method for the prediction of activity coefficients in non-electrolyte liquid mixtures was first introduced by Fredenslund et al. (1975). It is based on the Unified Quasi Chemical theory of liquid mixtures (UNIQUAC) (Abrams and Prausnitz, 1975), which is a statistical mechanical treatment derived from the quasi chemical lattice model (Guggenheim, 1952). UNIFAC has been extended to polymer solutions by Oishi and Prausnitz (1978) who added a free volume contribution term (UNIFAC-FV) taken from the polymer equation-of-state of Flory (1970). 

Holten-Andersen et al. (1987) modified the Flory equation of state in order to develop an equation that is applicable to the vapor phase, to make it more applicable to associating fluids, and to introduce a group contribution approach. Chen et al. (1990) revised and improved the equation of state. The final model takes the following form. 

Many properties of pure polymers (and of polymer solutions) can be estimated with group contributions (GC). Examples of properties for which (GC) methods have been developed are the density, the solubility parameter, the melting and glass transition temperatures, as well as the surface tension. Phase equilibria for polymer solutions and blends can also be estimated with GC methods, as we discuss in Section 16.4 and 16.5. Here we review the GC principle, and in the following sections we discuss estimation methods for the density and the solubility parameter. These two properties are relevant for many thermodynamic models used for polymers, e.g., the Hansen and Flory-Hug-gins models discussed in Section 16.3 and the free-volume activity coefficient models discussed in Section 16.4. 

The concept of free volume has been of more limited use in the prediction of solubility coefficients although, Peterlin (H) has suggested that the solubility coefficient is directly proportional to the free volume available in the polymer matrix. In many respects, the free volume expressions closely resemble the relationships developed in the activated state approach. In fact for the case of diffusivity, the two models can be shown to be mathematically equivalent by incorporating thermal expansion models such as the one proposed by Fox and Flory (12). The usefulness of the free volume model however, lies in the accessibility of the fractional free volume, through the use of group contribution methods developed by Bondi (12.) and Sugden (li), for correlation of barrier properties of polymers of different structure as demonstrated by Lee (15.). ... 

There has been a broad application of this group-contribution UNIFAC-fv concept to polymer solutions in the literature. Raetzsch and Glindemann recommended the use of the real free-volume relation from the Flory-Orwoll-Vrij model to account for realistic PVT-data. Problems arise for mixtures composed from chemically different components that posses the same groups, e.g., mixtures with different isomers. Kikic et al. discussed the influence of the combinatorial part on results obtained with UNIFAC-fv calculations. Gottlieb and Herskowitz gave some polemic about the special use of the Cj-parameter within UNIFAC-fv calculations. Iwai et demonstrated the possible use of... 

The simple Flory-Huggins %-function, combined with the solubility parameter approach may be used for a first rough guess about solvent activities of polymer solutions, if no experimental data are available. Nothing more should be expected. This also holds true for any calculations with the UNIFAC-fv or other group-contribution models. For a quantitative representation of solvent activities of polymer solutions, more sophisticated models have to be applied. The choice of a dedicated model, however, may depend, even today, on the nature of the polymer-solvent system and its physical properties (polar or non-polar, association or donor-acceptor interactions, subcritical or supercritical solvents, etc.), on the ranges of temperature, pressure and concentration one is interested in, on the question whether a special solution, special mixture, special application is to be handled or a more universal application is to be foxmd or a software tool is to be developed, on munerical simplicity or, on the other hand, on numerical stability and physically meaningftd roots of the non-linear equation systems to be solved. Finally, it may depend on the experience of the user (and sometimes it still seems to be a matter of taste). 

These authors showed that for a number of polymer-solvent system with a = 0.6 this method performs similarly to group contribution methods using volume fractions to represent the segment fractions in the Flory-Huggins model. Values of solubility parameters are tabulated by Barton [36]. 

Several other equation-of-state models have been proposed The lattice-fluid theory of Sanchez and Lacombe (1978), the gas-lattice model proposed by Koningsveld (1987), the strong interaction model proposed by Walker and Vause (1982), and the group contribution theory proposed by Holten-Anderson (1992), etc. These theories are reviewed by Miles and Rostami (1992) and Boyd and Phillips (1993). The lattice-fluid theory of Sanchez and Lacombe has similarities with the Flory-Huggins theory. It deals with a lattice, but with the difference from the Flory—Huggins model in that it allows vacancies in the lattice. The lattice is compressible. This theory is capable of describing both UCST and LCST behaviour. 

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