Equations
of state (EoS) are essential in the modeling of a wide
range of industrial and natural processes. Desired qualities of EoS
are accuracy, consistency, computational speed, robustness, and predictive
ability outside of the domain where they have been fitted. In this
work, we review present challenges associated with established models,
and give suggestions on how to overcome them in the future. The most
accurate EoS available, multiparameter EoS, have a second artificial
Maxwell loop in the two-phase region that gives problems in phase-equilibrium
calculations and excludes them from important applications such as
treatment of interfacial phenomena with mass-based density functional
theory. Suggestions are provided on how this can be improved. Cubic
EoS are among the most computationally efficient EoS, but they often
lack sufficient accuracy. We show that extended corresponding state
EoS are capable of providing significantly more accurate single-phase
predictions than cubic EoS with only a doubling of the computational
time. In comparison, the computational time of multiparameter EoS
can be orders of magnitude larger. For mixtures in the two-phase region,
however, the accuracy of extended corresponding state EoS has a large
potential for improvement. The molecular-based SAFT family of EoS
is preferred when predictive ability is important, for example, for
systems with strongly associating fluids or polymers where few experimental
data are available. We discuss some of their benefits and present
challenges. A discussion is presented on why predictive thermodynamic
models for reactive mixtures such as CO2–NH3 and CO2–H2O–H2S must be developed in close combination with phase- and reaction
equilibrium theory, regardless of the choice of EoS. After overcoming
present challenges, a next-generation thermodynamic modeling framework
holds the potential to improve the accuracy and predictive ability
in a wide range of applications such as process optimization, computational
fluid dynamics, treatment of interfacial phenomena, and processes
with reactive mixtures.
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