Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.39, No.4, 1080-1087, 2000
Experimental measurement of gas diffusivity in bitumen: Results for carbon dioxide
A new technique is developed to measure the diffusivity of gas in bitumen as a function of composition. Results are presented for a carbon dioxide-bitumen system, which is of considerable industrial relevance. The technique employs transient pressure data obtained from a nonintrusive pressure decay experiment at constant temperature and volume. The underlying theory is presented along with a computational algorithm to calculate diffusivity. Using experimental pressure decay data in the range 25-90 degrees C at 4 MPa, the diffusivity of carbon dioxide in bitumen is calculated. The results are compared with the limited data available in the literature. The approach is straightforward and can be easily applied to other nonvolatile liquid systems.