Measurement of diffusion coefficients in supercritical carbon dioxide and correlation with the equation of Wilke and Chang

Diffusion coefficients of acetone, benzene, naphthalene, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and chrysene have been measured by a chromatographic broadening technique in an open capillary tube (950 x 0.103 cm) filled with pure supercritical carbon dioxide or, in the case of benzene, with CO/sub 2/-methanol mixtures ranging from 0 to 100% in methanol. In pure supercritical CO/sub 2/, diffusion coefficients decrease when density increases; they increase linearly vs. the reciprocal of the viscosity; a linear relationship exists between the logarithms of the diffusion coefficients and the molar volumes with a slope of 0.6. Finally, in the range 0.6-0.9 g cm/sup -3/, the Wilke and Chang equation for the calculation of diffusion coefficients is valid for supercritical CO/sub 2/. For methanol-CO/sub 2/ mixtures there is no discontinuity of the diffusion coefficient of benzene when the methanol content varies from 0 to 100%. In the usual supercritical chromatographic conditions with a methanol content less than 10%, diffusion coefficients are at least 4 times higher than in pure methanol.