Performance of Some Novel Mixed Solvents as Entrainers for Separation of Water and Acetonitrile

Performance of some novel mixed solvents as entrainers was tested for acetonitrile dehydration by extractive distillation. The mixed solvents are composed of ethylene glycol (EG) and choline chloride (ChCl) (EG + ChCl 8:1, EG + ChCl 4:1, EG + ChCl 2:1, and EG + ChCl 4:3), ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol (EG + glycerol 1:1, EG + glycerol 1:2, EG + glycerol 1:4, and EG + glycerol 1:6), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ChCl (DMSO + ChCl 14:1). Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data were measured at 101.3 kPa and at a solvent-free acetonitrile mole fraction of 0.95 for the quaternary systems of water + acetonitrile + EG + ChCl, water + acetonitrile + EG + glycerol, and water + acetonitrile + DMSO + ChCl and for the ternary system of water + acetonitrile + DMSO. The NRTL equation was used for the correlation of the experimental VLE data. For all the three quaternary systems and one ternary system, the mean absolute deviations of equilibrium temperature were no more than 0.33 K, and the mean absolute deviations of water and acetonitrile vapor phase mole fractions were no more than 0.0026 and 0.0047, respectively. The mixed solvent EG + ChCl 4:3, which is also a deep eutectic solvent, showed favorable solvent performance. The azeotrope of water + acetonitrile can be removed at a solvent mass fraction of 0.212 or a solvent mole fraction of 0.104. This amount is less than that of EG (0.367 in mass fraction and 0.227 in mole fraction), EG + glycerol 1:6 (0.341 in mass fraction and 0.195 in mole fraction), and DMSO + ChCl 14:1 (0.266 in mass fraction and 0.153 in mole fraction).