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

ABSTRACT

Ten high boiling solvents were evaluated as the extraction solvent of furfural. o-Nitrotoluene with a high furfural distribution coefficient, high thermal stability, and having no azeotrope with furfural was chosen as a furfural extraction solvent for further study. The mutual solubilities for the water-o-nitrotoluene system were experimentally determined from (383.15 to 483.15) K at 25.0 bar using a static method. According to the results, it can be seen that the solubilities are temperature-dependent and can be correlated with a quadratic equation well. The distribution coefficients for furfural and acetic acid in the water-o-nitrotoluene system were determined from (303.15 to 483.15) K at 25.0 bar using a static method, respectively. The results show that the distribution coefficients are temperature-dependent and can be correlated with van t Hoff equation well. Considering the high selectivity for furfural, the low selectivity for acetic acid and negligible mutual solubilities with water, o-nitrotoluene was considered as a suitable solvent for furfural production in the solvent extraction process.