Constantine Tsonopoulos

Bio: Constantine Tsonopoulos is an academic researcher from Esso. The author has contributed to research in topics: Dipole & Virial coefficient. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 821 citations.

An empirical correlation of second virial coefficients

Abstract: A new correlation of second virial coefficients of both polar and nonpolar systems is presented. It uses the Pitzer-Curl correlation for nonpolar compounds, but in a modified form. The second virial coefficient of nonhydrogen bonding compounds (ketones, acetaldehyde, acetonitrile, ethers) and weakly hydrogen bonding compounds (phenol) is fitted satisfactorily with only one additional parameter per compound, which is shown to be a strong function of the reduced dipole moment. Two parameters are needed for hydrogen bonding compounds (alcohols, water), but for alcohols, one parameter has been kept constant and the other expressed as a function of the reduced dipole moment. The extension of the correlation to mixtures is satisfactory, direct, and involves only one coefficient per binary.

A generalized thermodynamic correlation based on three‐parameter corresponding states

Abstract: The volumetric and thermodynamic functions correlated by Pitzer and co-workers analytically represented with improved accuracy by a modified BWR equation of state. The representation provides a smooth transition between the original tables of Pitzer et al. and more recent extensions to lower temperatures. It is in a form particularly convenient for computer use.

A thermodynamic model of mixed organic-inorganic aerosols to predict activity coefficients

Abstract: Tropospheric aerosols contain mixtures of inorganic salts, acids, water, and a large variety of organic compounds. Interactions between these substances in liquid mixtures lead to discrepancies from ideal thermodynamic behaviour. By means of activity coefficients, non-ideal behaviour can be taken into account. We present here a thermodynamic model named AIOMFAC (Aerosol Inorganic-Organic Mixtures Functional groups Activity Coefficients) that is able to calculate activity coefficients covering inorganic, organic, and organic-inorganic interactions in aqueous solutions over a wide concentration range. This model is based on the activity coefficient model LIFAC by Yan et al. (1999) that we modified and reparametrised to better describe atmospherically relevant conditions and mixture compositions. Focusing on atmospheric applications we considered H^+, Li^+, Na^+, K^+, NH^+_4, Mg^(2+), Ca^(2+), Cl^−, Br^−, NO^−_3, HSO^−_4, and SO^(2−)_4 as cations and anions and a wide range of alcohols/polyols composed of the functional groups CH_n and OH as organic compounds. With AIOMFAC, the activities of the components within an aqueous electrolyte solution are well represented up to high ionic strength. Most notably, a semi-empirical middle-range parametrisation of direct organic-inorganic interactions in alcohol+water+salt solutions strongly improves the agreement between experimental and modelled activity coefficients. At room temperature, this novel thermodynamic model offers the possibility to compute equilibrium relative humidities, gas/particle partitioning and liquid-liquid phase separations with high accuracy. In further studies, other organic functional groups will be introduced. The model framework is not restricted to specific ions or organic compounds and is therefore also applicable for other research topics.

A refined droplet approach to the problem of homogeneous nucleation from the vapor phase

Abstract: A theory of homogeneous nucleation from the vapor phase is presented, which is based on an extension of Fisher’s semiphenomenological droplet model for the Gibbs free energy of formation of a cluster. This droplet model allows translational, rotational, vibrational, and configurational degrees of freedom of the cluster as well as the variation of surface tension with cluster size. By suitable choice of the three free model parameters, known nucleation theories such as the classical Becker–Doring–Zeldovich theory and others are obtained as special cases. Since, however, an ansatz for the Gibbs free energy of formation allows the construction of an equation of state for real gases below the critical point, a new method of determining the model parameters is suggested, which is based on the idea of forcing the identity of the constructed equation of state with an experimentally verified one. Thus, all free model parameters can be determined purely from well‐known handbook properties. It is shown that the new theory gives a better prediction of observed nucleation rates than the classical one.