Separation of n-propanol - n-propyl acetate azeotropic system by extractive distillation with ionic liquids: COSMO-RS prediction, experimental investigation and quantum chemical calculation

During the preparation of n-propyl acetate (NPAC), an azeotropic mixture of NPAC and n-propanol (NPA) will form inevitably, which is difficult to separate by ordinary distillation. In this work, COSMO-RS model was applied to screen appropriate ionic liquids (ILs) to separate the binary azeotrope of NPAC - NPA. 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([DMIM][Ac]), 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([OMIM][Ac]), and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([HMIM][Ac]) were selected as entrainers based on solvent capacity and selectivity. The vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data of the binary system (NPA - NPAC) and the ternary system (NPA - NPAC - IL) were measured at atmospheric pressure. The thermodynamic consistency of VLE data was verified by van Ness test and Wisniak's L-W test. The NRTL (non-random two liquids) model was used to correlate the VLE experimental data and obtained good applicability. The experimental results demonstrated that all three ionic liquids can improve the relative volatility of NPAC to NPA, and the separation effect is more obvious with the increase of ionic liquid content. The separation performance order of three ionic liquids follows: [HMIM][Ac] > [OMIM][Ac] > [DMIM][Ac]. Finally, ESP analysis, mutual penetration analysis, and IGMH analysis plus QTAIM topological analysis were used to explore the mechanism of separation. The analysis results indicate that the interaction between ionic liquids and NPA is stronger than that between ionic liquids and NPAC. In addition, the stronger interaction between [DMIM][Ac] and NPA is due to their strong hydrogen bond (HB) interactions.