TRANSPORT OF TOLUENE THROUGH FULLY SWOLLEN POLYETHYLENE

Experiments have been carried out to measure the permeation of tritium‐labeled toluene through polyethylene films fully swollen with chlorobenzene, mesitylene, cumene, toluene, ethylbenzene, cyclohexane, tetrahydronaphthalene, and decahydronaphthalene. The results show characteristic Arrhenius temperature dependence over the range 25 to 40°C. The permeation of toluene through the films appears to be enhanced by increased solubility of the swelling agent (estimated from the work of others) in the film and there also appears to be a rough correlation between permeability of toluene and the boiling points and vapor pressures of the swelling agents. The range of permeabilities measured at 25°C. is 2.09 × 10−7 to 0.51 × 10−7 sq.cm./sec., the extremes of measured permeation activation energy, Ep, are 11.41 to 16.68 kcal./mole, and the pre‐exponential factor, Po, falls within the interval 36.59 to 1.29 × 105 sq.cm./sec. A very definite linear relationship or compensation effect is evident between Po and Ep. Except as mentioned above, none of these quantities appears to correlate uniformly with the following properties of swelling solvent: molecular weight, dipole moment, specific gravity, vapor pressure, boiling point, heat of vaporization, critical temperature, viscosity, surface tension, molar volume, molecular area or other molecular dimensions. Copyright © 1969 American Institute of Chemical Engineers