Like most local composition models, UNIQUAC splits excess
Gibbs free energy into a combinatorial and a residual contribution: :G^E = (G^E)^C + (G^E)^R The calculated activity coefficients of the
ith component then split likewise: : \ln \gamma_i = \ln \gamma^C_i + \ln \gamma^R_i The first is an entropic term quantifying the deviation from ideal
solubility as a result of differences in molecule shape. The latter is an enthalpic correction caused by the change in interacting forces between different molecules upon mixing.
Combinatorial contribution The combinatorial contribution accounts for shape differences between molecules and affects the entropy of the mixture and is based on the lattice theory. The Stavermann–Guggenheim equation is used to approximate this term from pure chemical parameters, using the relative Van der Waals volumes
ri and surface areas
qi of the pure chemicals: :\frac{G^E}{RT} = \sum_i\, x_i \ln{V_i} + \frac {z}{2} q_i \, x_i \ln \frac{F_i}{V_i} Differentiating yields the excess entropy
γC, :\ln \gamma_i^C = (1 - V_i + \ln V_i) - \frac{z}{2} q_i \left( 1 - \frac{V_i}{F_i} + \ln \frac{V_i}{F_i}\right) with the
volume fraction per mixture
mole fraction, Vi, for the ith component given by: :V_i = \frac{r_i}{\sum_j x_j r_j} The surface area fraction per mixture molar fraction, Fi, for the ith component is given by: :F_i = \frac{ q_i}{\sum_j x_j q_j} The first three terms on the right hand side of the combinatorial term form the Flory–Huggins contribution, while the remaining term, the Guggenhem–Staverman correction, reduce this because connecting segments cannot be placed in all direction in space. This spatial correction shifts the result of the Flory–Huggins term about 5% towards an
ideal solution. The
coordination number,
z, i.e. the number of close interacting molecules around a central molecule, is frequently set to 10. It is based on the coordination number of an
methylene group in a long chain, which has in the approximation of a hexagonal close packing structure of spheres 10 intermolecular and 2 bonds. In the case of infinite dilution for a binary mixture, the equations for the combinatorial contribution reduce to: :\begin{cases} \ln \gamma_1^{C, \infty} = 1 - \dfrac{r_1}{r_2} + \ln \dfrac{r_1}{r_2} - \dfrac{z}{2} q_1 \left( 1 - \dfrac{r_1 q_2}{r_2 q_1} +\ln \dfrac{r_1 q_2}{r_2 q_1}\right) \\ \ln \gamma_2^{C,\infty} = 1 - \dfrac{r_2}{r_1} + \ln \dfrac{r_2}{r_1} - \dfrac{z}{2} q_2 \left( 1 - \dfrac{r_2 q_1}{r_1 q_2} +\ln \dfrac{r_2 q_1}{r_1 q_2}\right) \end{cases} This pair of equations show that molecules of same shape, i.e. same
r and
q parameters, have \gamma_1^{C, \infty} = \gamma_2^{C, \infty}= 1 .
Residual contribution The residual, enthalpic term contains an empirical parameter, \tau_{ij} , which is determined from the binary interaction energy parameters. The expression for the residual activity coefficient for molecule i is: :\ln \gamma_i^R = q_i \left( 1 - \ln \frac{\sum_j q_j x_j \tau_{ji} }{ \sum_j q_j x_j} - \sum_j {\frac{q_j x_j \tau_{ij}}{\sum_k q_k x_k \tau_{kj}}} \right) with :\tau_{ij} = e^{-\Delta u_{ij}/{RT}} \Delta u_{ii} [J/mol] is the binary interaction energy parameter. Theory defines \Delta u_{ij} = u_{ij} - u_{ii}, and \Delta u_{ji} = u_{ji} - u_{jj}, where u_{ij} is the interaction energy between molecules i and j. The interaction energy parameters are usually determined from activity coefficients, vapor-liquid, liquid-liquid, or liquid-solid equilibrium data. Usually \Delta u_{ij} \ne \Delta u_{ji} , because the energies of evaporation (i.e. u_{ii} ), are in many cases different, while the energy of interaction between molecule i and j is symmetric, and therefore u_{ij} = u_{ji} . If the interactions between the j molecules and i molecules is the same as between molecules i and j, there is no excess energy of mixing, \Delta u_{ij} = \Delta u_{ji} = 0 . And thus \gamma_i^{R} = 1 . Alternatively, in some process simulation software \tau_{ij} can be expressed as follows : :\ln \tau_{ij} = A_{ij} + B_{ij}/T + C_{ij} \ln(T)+ D_{ij} T + E_{ij}/T^2 . The
C,
D, and
E coefficients are primarily used in fitting liquid–liquid equilibria data (with
D and
E rarely used at that). The
C coefficient is useful for vapor-liquid equilibria data as well. The use of such an expression ignores the fact that on a molecular level the energy, \Delta u_{ij} , is temperature independent. It is a correction to repair the simplifications, which were applied in the derivation of the model. == Applications (phase equilibrium calculations) ==