Industrial Needs in Physical Properties

Physical properties affect all aspects of the chemical industry. Authors share their experiences to describe the trends and needs regarding physical properties. They also provide suggestions regarding possible future approaches for improved measurements and models to meet these needs. Increased emphasis is being placed on accurate physical property data and models due to increasing capability and complexity of chemical process simulation software, trends in process simulation applications, and nontraditional applications of physical properties. Some of the nontraditional applications of properties include biotechnology, polymer solutions, reaction media and solvent selection, environmental applications, modeling of process safety scenarios, corrosion, and product design and formulation. The need for better models, for pure component as well as mixture properties, is described. Some of the current models and ongoing research are discussed including the application of molecular theory and simulation. In particular, it is important to properly account for the effect of underlying fundamental interactions at the molecular level on the macroscopic behavior of fluids. Here, molecular-based study of fluids can play an important role in meeting physical property-related needs of the chemical industry. Industrial projects, as well as the need to develop and validate better property models, are driving the need for increasingly complex and faster measurements with smaller samples under difficult conditions. These needs are reviewed along with some specific suggestions for future measurements.