Extractive Distillation of Benzene and Cyclohexane by Using 1-propyronitrile- 3-butylimidazolium dicyanamide

• Main Author: Muhamad, Abdul Hannan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2012
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/9660/1/2012%20-%20Extractive%20Distillation%20of%20Benzene%20and%20CycloHexane%20By%20Using%201-Propyronitrile-3-Butylimidaz.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/9660/
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Petronas

Due to very close boiling point of benzene and cyclohexane (~Tb = 0.6°C), separation of them is one of the most challenging processes in the chemical industry and it is not practical to separate such a binary mixture by conventional distillation process. The separation efficiency of ionic liquid as a solvent in the extractive distillation process, COSMO-RS generated the information of potentially applicable ionic liquid of 1-propyronitrile-3-butylimidazolium dicyanamide [C2CNBim]N(CN)2 with aromatic compound and aliphatic compound is studied at temperature range (293.15 to 323.15) K and at atmospheric pressure. Firstly, the ionic liquid is synthesized and its property measurements is characterized. Then study on thermophysical properties of ionic liquid is done by preparing 1-propyronitrile-3- butylimidazolium dicyanamide added with benzene at different compositions and their density and refractive indices are measured at the stated temperature and pressure. Thermal expansion coefficients are estimated using the measured density values. Secondly, headspace-gas chromatography (HSGC) experiments are done at the stated conditions to calculate the relative volatility of the sytstem by measuring and observing vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the ternary systems (benzene+cyclohexane) with the ionic liquid. So far there is no available thermophysical data of 1-propyronitrile-3-butylimidazolium dicyanamide with aromatic compound yet and there is no available data on relative volatility of this ionic liquid with benzene and cyclohexane. All of these reasons have given me the motivation to carry out this study.