Measurement and Correlation of Liquid-Liquid Equilibria for the Ternary Methyl Isobutyl Ketone plus Phenol plus Water System at (333.15, 343.15 and 353.15) K under Atmospheric Pressure

Liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) data for the ternary methyl isobutyl ketone + phenol + water system have been determined at temperatures of (333.15, 343.15 and 353.15) K under atmospheric pressure. The reliability of the experimental tie-line data was confirmed by the Hand and Othmer-Tobias equations. The NRTL and UNIQUAC models were used to correlate the experimental data, and relevant binary interaction parameters were obtained. The experimental equilibrium compositions were successfully correlated by both models, with root-mean-square deviations <2.5 %, while the NRTL yielded even better correlation results. According to the distribution coefficients and selectivities, methyl isobutyl ketone is an excellent extractant to recover phenol from wastewater even in the temperature range of 333.15-353.15 K, which offers considerable advantages over extraction at lower temperatures.