[EMIM][DCA] as an entrainer for the extractive distillation of methanol-ethanol-water system

The ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([EMIM][DCA]) was selected as an appropriate entrainer for the extractive distillation of the methanol–ethanol-water mixture. The COSMO-RS model was applied to screen out the appropriate solvents considering selectivity and solvent capacity together. Isobaric vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) experiments for the two systems of methanol–water and ethanol–water with different amounts of [EMIM][DCA] added were conducted at 101.3 kPa. The experimental data showed that [EMIM][DCA] exhibits an obvious salting effect for the methanol (or ethanol)-water mixture and eliminates the azeotropic point of ethanol–water. Moreover, the predicted values by UNIFAC-Lei model coincide well with experimental data. The separation mechanism was further explained in combination with surface charge density distribution (σ-profiles), excess enthalpy (HE), and binding energy. In addition, the flow charts were designed to evaluate the improvement of energy consumption with [EMIM][DCA] as the entrainer when compared to ethylene glycol (EG). The simulation results demonstrated that [EMIM][DCA] is more energy efficient than EG.