Real gases are non-ideal gases whose molecules occupy space and have interactions; consequently, they do not adhere to theideal gas law.To understand the behaviour of real gases, the following must be taken into account:
issues with molecular dissociation and elementary reactions with variable composition
For most applications, such a detailed analysis is unnecessary, and theideal gas approximation can be used with reasonable accuracy. On the other hand, real-gas models have to be used near thecondensation point of gases, nearcritical points, at very high pressures, to explain theJoule–Thomson effect, and in other less usual cases. The deviation from ideality can be described by thecompressibility factor Z.
Real gases are often modeled by taking into account their molar weight and molar volume
or alternatively:
Wherep is the pressure,T is the temperature,R the ideal gas constant, andVm themolar volume.a andb are parameters that are determined empirically for each gas, but are sometimes estimated from theircritical temperature (Tc) andcritical pressure (pc) using these relations:
The constants at critical point can be expressed as functions of the parameters a, b:
Critical isotherm for Redlich-Kwong model in comparison to van-der-Waals model and ideal gas (with V0=RTc/pc)
TheRedlich–Kwong equation is another two-parameter equation that is used to model real gases. It is almost always more accurate than thevan der Waals equation, and often more accurate than some equations with more than two parameters. The equation is
or alternatively:
wherea andb are two empirical parameters that arenot the same parameters as in the van der Waals equation. These parameters can be determined:
The constants at critical point can be expressed as functions of the parametersa,b:
Using,, the equation of state can be written in thereduced form: with
Isotherm (V/V0->p_r) at critical temperature for Wohl model, van der Waals model and ideal gas model (with V0=RTc/pc)Untersuchungen über die Zustandsgleichung, pp. 9,10,Zeitschr. f. Physikal. Chemie 87
The Wohl equation (named after A. Wohl[5]) is formulated in terms of critical values, making it useful when real gas constants are not available, but it cannot be used for high densities, as for example the critical isotherm shows a drasticdecrease of pressure when the volume is contracted beyond the critical volume.
or:
or, alternatively:
where where,, are (respectively) the molar volume, the pressure and the temperature at thecritical point.
And with thereduced properties,, one can write the first equation in thereduced form:
[6] This equation is based on five experimentally determined constants. It is expressed as
where
This equation is known to be reasonably accurate for densities up to about 0.8 ρcr, whereρcr is the density of the substance at its critical point. The constants appearing in the above equation are available in the following table whenp is in kPa,Vm is in,T is in K and[7]
whered is the molar density and wherea,b,c,A,B,C,α, andγ are empirical constants. Note that theγ constant is a derivative of constantα and therefore almost identical to 1.
^D. Berthelot inTravaux et Mémoires du Bureau international des Poids et Mesures – Tome XIII (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1907)
^C. Dieterici,Ann. Phys. Chem. Wiedemanns Ann. 69, 685 (1899)
^Pippard, Alfred B. (1981).Elements of classical thermodynamics: for advanced students of physics (Repr ed.). Cambridge: Univ. Pr. p. 74.ISBN978-0-521-09101-5.
^Peng, D. Y. & Robinson, D. B. (1976). "A New Two-Constant Equation of State".Industrial and Engineering Chemistry: Fundamentals.15:59–64.doi:10.1021/i160057a011.S2CID98225845.
^Yunus A. Cengel and Michael A. Boles,Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2010,ISBN007-352932-X
^Gordan J. Van Wylen and Richard E. Sonntage,Fundamental of Classical Thermodynamics, 3rd ed, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1986 P46 table 3.3
^The critical state can be calculated by starting with, and taking the derivative with respect to. The equation is a quadratic equation in, and it has a double root precisely when.
Xiang, H. W. (2005).The Corresponding-States Principle and its Practice: Thermodynamic, Transport and Surface Properties of Fluids.Elsevier.ISBN978-0-08-045904-2.