Isobaric Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium of Toluene and Cresol Systems

To a first approximation, phase behavior of a system becomes increasingly skew in proportion to the boiling point difference of system-forming constituents. Therefore, phase behavior data of a system of a large boiling point difference are to be experimentally measured for thorough understanding of the thermodynamic characteristics of such system. In this work, isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium of a mixture consisting of toluene and cresol, which shows a large boiling point difference of nearly 100 degrees C and is consequently expected to be considerably nonideal, was measured by using a recirculating equilibrium cell at various subatmospheric pressures ranging from 10 kPa to 60 kPa. The measured VLE data were correlated with NRTL and UNIQUAC models in a satisfactory manner and the accompanying thermodynamic consistency test represented soundness of the measurements. In addition, the excess molar volume of the mixture was also measured with a vibrating densitometer and correlated with a Redlich-Kister polynomial. A negative excess volume prevailed over the whole concentration range, which indicates a favorable attraction between toluene and cresol isomers and results in an extensive miscibility.