SEPARATION OF PROPIONIC ACID – WATER AZEOTROPE USING LiBr SALT

Chemical Engineering

The study of effect of salt on vapour liquid equilibrium of solvent mixture is of interest because addition of salt to a mixed solvent will enhance the relative volatility and break azeotrope of the mixture. Extractive distillation with salt and salt containing distillation have been used in practice due to their low energy consumption high efficiency, reduced capital costs, higher yield of product, higher quality and less pollution. Vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE), is a condition where a liquid and its vapour (gas phase) are in equilibrium with each other or more precisely a state where the rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation on a molecular level such that there is no overall vapor-liquid inter-conversion. The measurement of vapour liquid equilibrium of Propionic acid + water + Lithium Bromide at different concentrations of salt below saturation level is done. The addition of Lithium bromide to this solvent mixture increases the water concentration in liquid phase at equilibrium. The objective is to study the effect of addition of Li-Br on separation of formic acid – water mixture and to find out the possibility of the use of concentrated solution of Li-Br as a solvent for separating dilute solution of acetic acid in water by extractive distillation process.

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