Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol.63, No.3, 498-507, 2018
Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquid as an Entrainer for the Separation of n-Propanol plus Water and Isopropanol plus Water Mixtures
The effect of the ionic liquid tetramethylammonium chloride [TMACI] on the vapor-liquid equilibrium of n-propanol + water and isopropanol + water was studied experimentally. The ionic liquid [TMACI] was identified as a suitable entrainer for breaking the azeotrope of these two alcohol water mixtures. This work reports the influence of an ammonium-based ionic liquid on the separation of azeotropic mixtures. The isobaric vapor liquid equilibrium data of n-propanol + water + [TMACI] and isopropanol + water + [TMACI] were measured at atmospheric pressure. The amount of [TMACI] required for eliminating the azeotrope for both the systems was found to be low compared to imidazolium ionic liquids reported earlier. For n-propanol + water system, the azeotrope was eliminated at [TMACI] mole fraction of 0.05, and for isopropanol + water system, the azeotrope was eliminated at a mole fraction of 0.026. The effect of [TMACI] on both the alcohol water systems was explained in terms of relative volatility and activity coefficient.