Azeotrope breaking potential of ionic liquids in separation processes

The principal aim of this work is to estimate the azeotrope breaking of ionic liquids (IL) in separation processes. The global phase diagram approach is applied to correlate azeotrope data for binary mixtures based only on critical properties and acentric factor of the individual components. Analytical expressions to predict azeotrope phenomena in terms of critical parameters of pure components and binary interaction parameters are given. The azeotrope breaking in binary refrigerant mixtures with ionic liquid adding is predicted. The eventual azeotrope appearance in the refrigerant - IL blends is discussed and conclusion about highly improbable azeotrope blend formation for these systems is given. Azeotrope breaking in the R134a - R1234yf blend at IL doping is considered as illustration of zeotrope behavior in the refrigerant - ILs mixtures.