An azeotrope in the desert

IF 2.8 3区工程技术 Q3 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

Fluid Phase Equilibria Pub Date : 2025-02-07 DOI:10.1016/j.fluid.2025.114359

Michael Kleiber

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

One of the most exciting applications of thermodynamics in chemical industry is the separation of azeotropes. The azeotrope in the system tetrahydrofuran — water seems to be an easy one, as it can be separated in two columns without the help of a selective agent by pressure-swing distillation. The topic of this paper is a case where this principle was applied. As well, a number of other components had to be separated so that two further distillation columns had to be provided. To everyone’s surprise, the water content could often not be kept below the target value of 300 ppm so that the product was off-spec. The various possible reasons were regarded. While almost everyone concluded that the azeotropic separation did not work, some thermodynamic considerations suggested that the pressure-swing distillation seemed to do its job. To find the reason of the failure, a hygrometer had been calibrated in a way that it could instantaneously indicate the water content in the tetrahydrofuran. It could be proven that the azeotrope of the tetrahydrofuran — water was properly separated. The reason for the moisture in the product could be located downstream the azeotropic separation and easily been corrected.

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来源期刊

Fluid Phase Equilibria 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

5.30

自引率

15.40%

发文量

223

审稿时长

53 days

期刊介绍： Fluid Phase Equilibria publishes high-quality papers dealing with experimental, theoretical, and applied research related to equilibrium and transport properties of fluids, solids, and interfaces. Subjects of interest include physical/phase and chemical equilibria; equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermophysical properties; fundamental thermodynamic relations; and stability. The systems central to the journal include pure substances and mixtures of organic and inorganic materials, including polymers, biochemicals, and surfactants with sufficient characterization of composition and purity for the results to be reproduced. Alloys are of interest only when thermodynamic studies are included, purely material studies will not be considered. In all cases, authors are expected to provide physical or chemical interpretations of the results. Experimental research can include measurements under all conditions of temperature, pressure, and composition, including critical and supercritical. Measurements are to be associated with systems and conditions of fundamental or applied interest, and may not be only a collection of routine data, such as physical property or solubility measurements at limited pressures and temperatures close to ambient, or surfactant studies focussed strictly on micellisation or micelle structure. Papers reporting common data must be accompanied by new physical insights and/or contemporary or new theory or techniques.