Investigating the phase behavior of methane, ethane and their binary mixture confined in a 5 nm slit-like-pore with different wall types: Monte Carlo simulation study

This study investigates the phase behavior of methane, ethane, and their binary mixture in both bulk and 5 nm slit-like pores with silica, anhydrite, calcite, dolomite, and montmorillonite walls using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation (GCMC). The results show that vapor densities increase and, liquid densities decrease with the reduction of the pore width for both pure components and binary mixtures. The critical pressure and temperature decrease significantly in confined systems compared to bulk systems, with the rate of decrease varying depending on the type of surface. The response of critical density to surface type is distinct, and the critical density can be higher or lower than that in bulk systems. Furthermore, the dew point pressure of the confined binary mixture between two surfaces of silica, anhydrite, calcite, dolomite, and montmorillonite is higher than its value in bulk systems, while the bubble point pressure in confined systems can be lower, equal, or more than its value in bulk systems, depending on the pore surface and temperature.