The Kwak–Mansoori approach to the Peng–Robinson equation for determining the thermodynamic consistency of VLE in ethanol + congener mixtures

The modified Peng–Robinson equation of state proposed by Kwak and Mansoori (PR/KM) is used in a thermodynamic consistency test of phase equilibrium data for binary ethanol + congener mixtures found in alcoholic distillation processes. Congener substances are those components in a must that are present at very low concentration, but their presence is necessary to give the distilled liquor their particular aromatic and tasting characteristics. The congener substances considered in this study are: acetic acid, ethyl acetate, furfural, methanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-pentanol, 1-propanol and methyl acetate. A flexible area test method is applied to analyse 25 isothermal P–x–y data of ethanol + congener mixtures available in the open literature. The consistency method determines the value of three integral expressions derived from the Gibbs–Duhem equation; one integral is calculated using experimental data only and the other two by using values calculated with the PR/KM model. For all cases, the method gives a clear answer about consistency or inconsistency of a set of isothermal P–x–y data.