Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
6-30-1969
Degree Name
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering - (M.S.)
Department
Chemical Engineering
First Advisor
Dimitrios P. Tassios
Second Advisor
Deran Hanesian
Third Advisor
Joseph Joffe
Abstract
The effects of dissolved salts on the vapor-liquid equilibrium of two non-aqueous binary systems have been studied. Vapor-liquid equilibrium data were taken for the binary systems ethanol - n-hexane and ethanol - hexene-1. Then potassium acetate was dissolved in each of the binary systems at a level of 1.5 mole per cent and equilibrium data were collected. The effect of the dissolved potassium acetate at this low concentration was found to be minimal.
Greater levels of salt solubility could be achieved only in the binary systems containing high ethanol concentrations. Consequently, the 15 mole per cent n-hexane in ethanol binary and the 15 mole per cent hexene-1 in ethanol binary were selected for further study. Vapor-liquid equilibrium data were taken for each of these two binary systems containing the following dissolved salts: 2.9 mole per cent potassium acetate, 5.4 mole per cent potassium acetate, 4.5 mole per cent lithium bromide, and 9.0 mole per cent lithium bromide.
All data were taken at a constant temperature of 60?C. The systems for which a significant number of data points were collected met successfully the area thermodynamic consistency test.
The results of this study are as follows:
1. The effect of the dissolved salt in the hydrocarbon - ethanol binary is to significantly increase the volatility of the hydrocarbon. That is to say, the hydrocarbon is "salted out" with respect to the ethanol.
2. The degree of "salting out" is analogous to the amount of salt dissolved in the binary system.
3. A 4.5 mole per cent solution of lithium bromide has a greater "salting out" effect than does a 5.4 mole per cent solution of potassium acetate. This must be due to the smaller radius of the lithium ion.
4. As expected, the presence of salt increases the relative volatility of n-hexane to hexene-1. However, due to the low level of salt solubility, the increase is not large enough to facilitate the separation of n-hexane - hexene-1 mixtures.
Recommended Citation
Lindberg, Glenn W., "The effect of organic and inorganic salt on the relative volatility of non-aqueous systems" (1969). Theses. 2659.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/theses/2659
