Thermodynamics Research Center / ThermoML | Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data

ABSTRACT

Fatty alcohol and fatty acid compounds are responsible for some significant characteristics of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food products, such as texture and stability. The knowledge of the solid-liquid equilibrium (SLE) behavior of such mixtures is necessary to enhance production processes as well as to upgrade their home and industrial usage. In this study, the SLE phase diagrams of five binary mixtures composed by fatty alcohols and fatty acids namely 1-dodecanol, 1-tetradecanol, 1-hexadecanol, lauric acid, myristic acid, and palmitic acid were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Polarized light microscopy was used to complement the characterization of phase diagrams which have shown a complex global behavior with eutectic and peritectic points as well as solid solution formation. The SLE data were fitted using the Margules 2-suffix and 3-suffix, UNIFAC and, UNIFAC Dortmund models. The modeling approach using the 3-suffix Margules equation was that best represented the experimental data.