Thermodynamically consistent versus completely empirical property models in process simulation

摘要

Physical and chemical property models are widely used in process engineering. There exist, in the published literature, completely empirical models of "thermodynamic properties", that is, property models that are not consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. There also exist property models that purport to be thermodynamically consistent but are flawed in their implementation. There are also published property models that are consistent with the laws of thermodynamics but that do not reproduce property values with an acceptable accuracy. A practicing engineer might be asked to assess very different property models for which there are a variety of claims. This paper discusses features of thermodynamic and empirical property models that may assist in their practical evaluation and implementation.