Separation of benzene from alkanes using 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium ethylsulfate ionic liquid at several temperatures and atmospheric pressure: Effect of the size of the aliphatic hydrocarbons

The ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylpyridinium ethylsulfate, [EMpy][ESO4], was studied for the separation of benzene from aliphatic hydrocarbons (octane or nonane) by solvent extraction through the determination of the (liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) of the ternary systems: {octane (1) + benzene (2) + [EMpy][ESO4] (3)} and {nonane (1) + benzene (2) + [EMpy][ESO4] (3)} at T = (283.15 and 298.15) K and atmospheric pressure. Binodal curves were determined using the “cloud point” method, and tie-line compositions were obtained by density measurements. The values of selectivity and distribution coefficient, derived from the tie-line data, were used to decide if this ionic liquid can be used as potential solvent for the separation of benzene from aliphatic hydrocarbons using liquid extraction. These results were analyzed and compared to those previously reported for the systems {hexane + benzene + [EMpy][ESO4]} and {heptane + benzene + [EMpy][ESO4]}. The experimental results show that this ionic liquid is suitable for the extraction of benzene from mixtures containing octane and nonane. The consistency of tie-line data was ascertained by applying the Othmer–Tobias and Hand equations. The experimental results for the ternary systems were well correlated with the NRTL model. No literature data were found for the mixtures discussed in this paper.