Mid Sweden University

In this study, four ternary liquid-liquid equilibrium systems containing a solvent, furfural, and water were investigated by performing liquid-liquid equilibrium measurements at two different temperatures. The solvents were n-pentyl acetate, n-hexyl acetate, n-pentanol, and n-hexanol. The measurements were compared to the literature data and modeled with the UNIQUAC (universal quasi-chemical) activity coefficient model by taking into account also the vapor-liquid, liquid-liquid, and vapor-liquid-liquid equilibrium behaviors if present. n-Hexyl acetate showed the smallest solubility in water both in binary and ternary measurements. All four ternary systems showed similar magnitude distribution coefficients but furfural had the highest selectivity to n-hexyl acetate. Among the four systems investigated in this work, n-hexyl acetate was observed to have the best characteristics as a solvent for the extraction of furfural from water. © 2020 American Chemical Society.