(Liquid + liquid) equilibria in ternary aqueous mixtures of phosphoric acid with organic solvents at T = 298.2 K

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data for the ternary mixtures of {water (1) + phosphoric acid (2) + organic solvents (3)} were determined at T = 298.2 K and atmospheric pressure. The organic solvents were cyclohexane, 2-methyl-2-butanol (tert-amyl alcohol), and isobutyl acetate. All the investigated systems exhibit Type-1 behaviour of LLE. The immiscibility region was found to be larger for the (water + phosphoric acid + cyclohexane) ternary system. The experimental LLE results were correlated with the NRTL model, and the binary interaction parameters were obtained. The reliability of the experimental tie-line results was tested through the Othmer–Tobias and Bachman correlation equations. Distribution coefficients and separation factors were evaluated over the immiscibility regions and a comparison of the extracting capabilities of the solvents was made with respect to these factors. The experimental results indicate the superiority of cyclohexane as the preferred solvent for the extraction of phosphoric acid from its aqueous solutions.