Txy Phase Diagram Showing LLE and VLE Simultaneously (9min,uakron.edu)

The binary Txy phase diagram of methanol+benzene is visualized with sample calculations of the SSCED model with several values of the nonideality (k_ij) parameter. The calculations show the liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) phase boundary as well as the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) boundary. As the estimated nonideality (k_ij) increases, the LLE boundary crashes into the VLE. It is so exciting that it makes a thermo nerd wax poetic about the "valley of Gibbs."

Comprehension Questions:

1. The LLE phase boundary moves up as the nonideality increases. Which way does the VLE contribution move? Explain how this relates to the molecules' escaping tendencies.
2. How would this phase diagram change if the pressure was increased to, say, 10 bars?
3. What value of k_ij is required to make the LLE binodal barely touch the VLE at 1 bar?
4. What value of k_ij is required to make the LLE binodal barely touch the VLE at 10 bars?

Helmholtz Departure - PR EOS (uakron.edu, 11min) This lesson focuses first and foremost on deriving the Helmholtz departure function. It illustrates the application of integral tables from Apx. B and the importance of applying the limits of integration. It is the essential starting point for deriving properties involving entropy (S,A,G) of the PREOS, and it is a convenient starting point for deriving energetic properties (U,H).

Heat Engine Introduction (LearnChemE.com, 6min) introduction to Carnot heat engine and Rankine cycle. The Carnot cycle is an idealized conceptual process in the sense that it provides the maximum possible fractional conversion of heat into work (aka. thermal efficiency, η_θ). But it is impractical for several reasons as discussed in the video. When operating on steam as the working fluid, as is common in nuclear power plants, coal fired power plants, and concentrated solar power plants, the Rankine cycle is much more practical, as explained here. This LearnChemE video is short and sweet, but it applies the property of entropy, which is not introduced until Chapter 4. All you need to know about entropy at this stage is that the change in entropy is zero for an adiabatic and reversible process and the change in entropy is greater than zero when you add heat or cause irreversibility. Since entropy is a state function, we can use the steam tables to facilitate accounting for inefficiencies. Entropy becomes essential when using steam as the working fluid because working out ∫PdV of steam is much more difficult than for an ideal gas. We reiterate this video in Chapter 5, where we discuss calculations for several practical cyclic processes.

Comprehension Questions:
1. Why is the Carnot cycle impractical when it comes to running steam through a turbine? How does the Rankine cycle solve this problem?
2. Why is the Carnot cycle impractical when it comes to running steam through a pump? How does the Rankine cycle solve this problem?
3. It is obvious which temperatures are the "high" and "low" temperatures in the Carnot cycle, but not so much in the Rankine cycle. The "boiler" in a Rankine cycle actually consists of "simple boiling" where the saturated liquid is converted to saturated vapor, and superheating where the saturated vapor is raised to the temperature entering the turbine. When comparing the thermal efficiency of a Rankine cycle to the Carnot efficiency, should we substitute the temperature during "simple" boiling, or the temperature entering the turbine into the formula for the Carnot efficiency? Explain.

Mixing Rules (7:23) (msu.edu)

How should energy depend on composition? Should it be linear or non-linear? What does the van der Waals approach tell us about composition dependence? This screencasts shows that the mixing rule for 'a' in a random mixture should be quadratic. A linear mixing rule is usually used for the van der Waals size parameter.