Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.36, No.3, 803-807, 1997
Solvent Selection for Cyclohexane-Cyclohexene-Benzene Separation by Extractive Distillation Using Non-Steady-State Gas-Chromatography
The infinite-dilution activity coefficients of cyclohexane, cyclohexene, and benzene in N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methylpyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide, phenyl acetate, and dimethyl malonate have been determined at temperatures ranging from 40 to 80 degrees C, by non-steady-state gas chromatography. From these data, the limiting selectivity-solvency properties for cyclohexane-benzene, cyclohexene-benzene, and cyclohexane-cyclohexene, in the presence of the aforementioned solvents, are studied, and the solvents tested are considered for the cyclohexane-cyclohexene-benzene separation by extractive distillation. According to the results, N,N-dimethylacetamide seems to be an adequate solvent for the cyclohexane-benzene and cyclohexene-benzene separations. The separation of cyclohexane-cyclohexene is the most difficult, in spite of the difference of boiling points, much higher than for cyclohexane-benzene.