Liquid-liquid equilibria of water + solutes (acetic acid/ acetol/furfural/guaiacol/methanol/phenol/propanal) + solvents (isopropyl acetate/toluene) ternary systems for pyrolysis oil fractionation

Solvent extraction of valuables compounds from pyrolysis oil is a promising way for biorefineries optimization, and the design of such operations requires accurate thermodynamic models based on experimental data. Liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) were investigated at atmospheric pressure and 298.15, 303.15 and 313.15 K between pyrolysis oil compounds in aqueous phase and organic solvents. New liquid -liquid equilibrium data were measured involving seven typical pyrolysis oil organic compounds (acetic acid, acetol, furfural, guaiacol, methanol, phenol and propanal), water and two potential extraction solvents (Toluene and Isopropyl acetate). These new datasets together with literature LLE data have been correlated with UNIQUAC and NRTL models. Both compositions and solutes partition coefficients have been successfully correlated with those models.