Effect of vinyl alcohol + sodium acrylate copolymer gel on the vapor-liquid equilibrium of 1-propanol + water

The activities of 1-propanol and water in the solvent + polymeric gel (vinyl alcohol + sodium acrylate copolymer) binary systems and the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) compositions of 1-propanol + water system containing polymeric gel were measured at 298.15 K by using flow type equipment which can detect the concentrations of solvents in the vapor phase and the partial pressures of each solvent. Helium gas was used as the carrier gas. The mole fraction of the vapor phase was determined by gas chromatography with a concentration accuracy of ±0.4%. And the mole fraction of the liquid phase was obtained from feed compositions. The activity of 1-propanol in the 1-propanol + polymeric gel solution scarcely changed with an increase of polymeric gel, while the activity of water decreased with an increase in the concentration of polymeric gel in the binary systems. It was found that the mole fraction of 1-propanol in the vapor phase increases with an increase in the concentration of polymeric gel in the liquid phase of the ternary system.