Development of a Magnetic Suspension Densimeter and Measurement of the Density of Toluene

The development of a magnetic suspension densimeter that has been built for measurement of the density of compressed liquid at pressures up to 30 MPa in the temperature range 20 to 150°C is described. The densimeter was first built by the author and his coworkers at NIST. We describe here further improvements made on a second system built at NMIJ based on the same principle. The densimeter uses a small coil suspended from an electronic balance. Within the coil is placed a sample cell in which the pressurized sample and a buoy, which is a permanent magnet, are enclosed. For measurement of density, balance readings are recorded (1) with the buoy at rest and (2) with the buoy in magnetic suspension. The measurement procedure is basically a hydrostatic weighing, which is simpler than those of conventional magnetic densimetry. As an example, measurements of toluene density performed as part of an iInter-laboratory comparison are preseInted. The data agreed with reliable literature values to within a few hundredths of a per cent.