Solubility of HFC-134a, HCFC-142b, Butane, and Isobutane in Low-Density Polyethylene Melt

Abstract

The solubility of HFC-134a, HCFC-142b, butane and isobutane in molten low-density polyethylene (LDPE) has been measured with a volumetric method at temperatures of 383.15∼473.15 K and pressures up to 3.4 MPa. The solubility increased with decreasing temperature and increasing pressure. The measured solubility was correlated with the Sanchez-Lacombe equation of state (S-L EOS) along with a temperature-dependent binary interaction parameter. In all cases, the calculated solubility was in reasonably good agreement with the experimental data within an average absolute deviation of 3.0, 5.1, 7.2 and 3.5% for HFC-134a, HCFC-142b, butane and isobutane, respectively. The Henry's constants for butane and isobutane obtained in this work were also in good agreement with the literature data and the Stiel's equation.