The basis for the development and evaluation of equations of state for mixtures is experimental data for several thermodynamic properties. The quality and the availability of experimental data limit the achievable accuracy of the equation. Referring to the fundamentals of GERG-2008 wide-range equation of state, no suitable data were available for many mixtures containing secondary natural gas components.This work provides accurate experimental (p, ρ, T) data for two binary mixtures of methane with helium (0.95 (amount-of-substance fraction) CH 4 + 0.05 He and 0.90 CH 4 + 0.10 He). Density measurements were performed at temperatures between 250 K and 400 K and pressures up to 20 MPa by using a singlesinker densimeter with magnetic suspension coupling. Experimental data were compared with the corresponding densities calculated from the GERG-2008 and the AGA8-DC92 equations of state.Deviations from GERG-2008 were found within a 2 % band for the (0.95 CH 4 + 0.05 He) mixture but exceeded the 3 % limit for the (0.95 CH 4 + 0.05 He) mixture. The highest deviations were observed at 250 K and pressures between 17 and 19 MPa. Values calculated from AGA8-DC92, however, deviated from the experimental data by only 0.1 % at high pressures and exceeded the 0.2 % limit only at temperatures of 300 K and above, for the (0.90 CH 4 + 0.10 He) mixture.
IntroductionThe knowledge of the thermophysical properties of natural gases and other related mixtures is an important feature for the performance of technical processes. Transportation, storage, and liquefaction processes in addition to design of equipment and other applications of natural gases require an accurate estimation of the thermodynamic properties of the individual mixture-forming components. Depending on the source and the application, several components may be present in natural gases at different compositions. The raw natural gas needs to be processed due to the quality specifications for its commercial use as a fuel. Thus, the separation of undesirable components (e.g., carbon dioxide, water or hydrogen sulfide) or the presence of other components (e.g., lower and higher hydrocarbons) is required.In addition, the growing interest in alternative sources of energy gases and the diversity of composition of these non-conventional fuels demands to consider other components with minority presence. For all this reasons, property calculations over wide ranges of mixture compositions and operating conditions in the homogeneous gaseous, liquid, and supercritical regions and for vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) states are required. These particular data can be calculated from equations of state. Different equations of state have been developed for various substances and applications, according to the requirements of precision and availability of experimental data. There are two main equations of state for estimating natural gas properties: AGA8-DC92 and GERG-2008. The first one was developed by Starling and Savidge with the support of the American Gas Association (AGA). The AGA8-DC9...