Vapor‐liquid equilibrium, thermodynamic properties, process simulation and economic evaluation of CPME and methanol system

Abstract Cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME) is a promising green solvent due to its eco‐friendly properties; it is produced by adding methanol (MeOH) to cyclopentene. Separation of the resulting product mixture containing CPME and MeOH is critical, and it requires vapor‐liquid equilibrium (VLE) data. In this work, isobaric VLE data were measured experimentally using an ebulliometer in a 60.0–101.3 kPa pressure range for a binary system of CPME + MeOH. VLE data were modeled using excess Gibbs (G) energy‐based models such as Wilson, NRTL, and UNIQUAC. The formation of an azeotrope was analyzed. Flash point, surface tension, Gibbs adsorption, and thickness of surface layer were estimated using the Wilson model, which can help in determining molecule interaction and overall behavior of the system. Atmospheric and high‐pressure distillation columns were designed using Aspen Plus to study the separation of CPME + MeOH, and an economic evaluation of the same was carried out.