Investigation of the surface tension of methane and n-alkane mixtures by perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory combined with density-gradient theory

The perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT) and density-gradient theory are used to construct an equation of state to describe the phase behavior of binary methane–n-alkane mixtures. With the molecular parameters and influence parameters regressed from bulk properties and surface tensions of pure fluids, respectively as input, both the bulk and interfacial properties are investigated. The surface tension of the binary systems methane–propane, methane–pentane, methane–heptane and methane–decane are predicted, and the results are satisfactory compared with the experimental data. Our results show that PC-SAFT combined with density-gradient theory is able to describe the interfacial properties of binary methane–n-alkane mixtures in wide temperature and pressure ranges, and illustrate the influence of the equilibrium bulk properties and chain length of n-alkane molecule on the interfacial properties.