Dr. Kraemer D. Luks

University Professor of Chemical Engineering

Email: kraemer-luks@utulsa.edu 

Research Emphasis

• Thermodynamics of continuous mixtures
• Classical thermodynamics and phase space topography

Research

Thermodynamics of Continuous Mixtures

The challenge of dealing with complex mixtures such as the C7+ portion of oil in phase equilibrium computations can be undertaken from the viewpoint of considering the portion as a continuous mixture of nearly innumerable species. Work on this problem has been conducted at several levels. (1) Fundamental questions have been raised about certain formal aspects of the use of continuous thermodynamics in computations. (2) Continuous thermodynamics has been extended to studying differential crystallization processes in complex solid-fluid systems ; (3)Continuous thermodynamics has been exploited to help identify the amounts and characters of an optimally small set of C7+ pseudocomponents, the description of which would then be inserted into an equation-of-state for the purpose of using them in compositional reservoir simulators.

Classical Thermodynamics and Phase Space Topography

The iterative solution of the nonlinear equations that govern fluid-phase and solid-fluid-phase equilibria in mixtures offers a mathematically rich convergence of geometry and physics, particularly with respect to the application of Gibbs minimization analysis.  Problems of recent interest are: (1) the topography of solid-fluid phase equilibria as supported by simple solid-phase artifices, (2) the geometry of phase equilibria in complex-number space, and (3) the topography of azeotropic systems.

Selected Publications

• J. A. Labadie and K. D. Luks, “The Continuous Phase Equilibrium Problem: Quadrature Compositional Characterization and Asymptotic Convergence,” I&EC Research 40, 6213-6220 (2001).

• J. A. Labadie and K. D. Luks, “Computing Phase Equilibria: How Gibbs Energy Considerations Reduce the Role of Rachford-Rice Analysis,” Chemical Engineering Education Winter, 76-80 (2002).

• L. E. Gutiérrez M. and K. D. Luks, ”Partial Miscibility Behavior of the Ternary Mixture Carbon Dioxide + 1-Methylnaphthalene  + Acetone,” Fluid Phase Equilibria 198, 29-36 (2002).  

• J. A. Labadie and K. D. Luks, “Solid-Fluid Phase Equilibria of Compositionally Complex Mixtures: Divergence of Equilibrium and Process Treatments,” Fluid Phase Equilibria 205, 215-232 (2003).

• L. E. Gutiérrez M. and K. D. Luks, ”Partial Miscibility Behavior of the Ternary Mixture Carbon Dioxide + 1-Methylnaphthalene  + Methanol,” Fluid Phase Equilibria 205, 89-102 (2003).

• R. P. Holderman and K. D. Luks, ”Non-ideal Solution Limitations to the Use of Quadrature in Some Differential Phase Equilibrium Computations,” I&EC Research 43, 5380-5388 (2004).

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