Thermodiffusion in multicomponent n-alkane mixtures

Compositional grading within a mixture has a strong impact on the evaluation of the pre-exploitation distribution of hydrocarbons in underground layers and sediments. Thermodiffusion, which leads to a partial diffusive separation of species in a mixture due to the geothermal gradient, is thought to play an important role in determining the distribution of species in a reservoir. However, despite recent progress, thermodiffusion is still difficult to measure and model in multicomponent mixtures. In this work, we report on experimental investigations of the thermodiffusion of multicomponent n-alkane mixtures at pressure above 30 MPa. The experiments have been conducted in space onboard the Shi Jian 10 spacecraft so as to isolate the studied phenomena from convection. For the two exploitable cells, containing a ternary liquid mixture and a condensate gas, measurements have shown that the lightest and heaviest species had a tendency to migrate, relatively to the rest of the species, to the hot and cold region, respectively. These trends have been confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. The measured condensate gas data have been used to quantify the influence of thermodiffusion on the initial fluid distribution of an idealised one dimension reservoir. The results obtained indicate that thermodiffusion tends to noticeably counteract the influence of gravitational segregation on the vertical distribution of species, which could result in an unstable fluid column. This confirms that, in oil and gas reservoirs, the availability of thermodiffusion data for multicomponent mixtures is crucial for a correct evaluation of the initial state fluid distribution

A comprehensive study of diffusion, thermodiffusion, and Soret coefficients of water-isopropanol mixtures

We report on the measurement of diffusion (D), thermodiffusion (D T), and Soret (S T) coefficients in water-isopropanol mixtures by three different instrumental techniques: thermogravitational column in combination with sliding symmetric tubes, optical beam deflection, and optical digital interferometry. All the coefficients have been measured over the full concentration range. Results from different instruments are in excellent agreement over a broad overlapping composition (water mass fraction) range 0.2 ≤ c ≤ 0.7, providing new reliable benchmark data. Comparison with microgravity measurements (SODI/IVIDIL (Selected Optical Diagnostic Instrument/Influence of VIbration on DIffusion in Liquids)) onboard the International Space Station and with literature data (where available) generally gives a good agreement. Contrary to theoretical predictions and previous experimental expectations we have not observed a second sign change of S T at low water concentrations. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Do thermal diffusion and Dufour coefficients satisfy Onsager’s reciprocity relation?

It is commonly admitted that in liquids the thermal diffusion and Dufour coefficients DT and DF satisfy Onsager's reciprocity. From their relation to the cross-coefficients of the phenomenological equations, we are led to the conclusion that this is not the case in general. As illustrative and physically relevant examples, we discuss micellar solutions and colloidal suspensions, where DT arises from chemical reactions or viscous effects but is not related to the Dufour coefficient DF . The situation is less clear for binary molecular mixtures; available experimental and simulation data do not settle the question whether DT and DF are reciprocal coefficients