Effects of molecular weight and degree of unsaturation on binary diffusion coefficients for lipids in supercritical carbon dioxide

Infinite dilution binary diffusion coefficients and retention factors for the oleic acid family such as oleic acid, methyl- and ethyl esters, and mono-, di, and triglycerides at 313.21 K and 8-30 MPa, and for other 13 lipids consisting of C18-C22 unsaturated fatty acid constituents at 313.21 K and 11 MPa were measured in carbon dioxide by a chromatographic impulse response method with a polymer coated capillary column. The binary diffusion coefficients and the retention factors for each compound decreased with increasing pressure. The binary diffusion coefficients could be represented by a Schmidt number correlation and by an empirical equation written in terms of temperature and CO2 viscosity. The retention factors for each solute could be expressed in terms of CO2 density. While the binary diffusion coefficients at 313.21 K and 11 MPa decreased with solute molecular weight, those for compounds having the same carbon numbers in each group, such as methyl ester, ethyl ester, and triglyceride, decreased with increasing the number of C-C double bonds. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.