Liquid-liquid equilibrium for methyl butyl ketone + o-, m-, p-cresol + water ternary systems and COSMO-SAC predictions

Abstract The liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for the three ternary systems, methyl butyl ketone (MBK) +  o -, m -, p -cresol + water, were measured at 333.2 K and 353.2 K under 101 kPa in this work. Distribution coefficient and selectivity for cresols were calculated from the experimental tie-line data to evaluate the performance of MBK extracting cresols from the aqueous solution. The experimental tie-line data were correlated by the NRTL and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models, and both models showed good agreement with the experimental data. The COSMO-SAC model (conductor-like screening model for segment activity coefficient) was employed to predict LLE phase diagrams for the studied systems with root mean square deviations less than 3%.