Liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) for the methyl tert-butyl ketone (MTBK) + o-, m-, and p-cresol + water ternary systems, at temperatures of (298.2, 313.2, and 323.2) K and 101 kPa, were determined in this work. High distribution coefficient and selectivity values were calculated from the LLE data, which indicated that MTBK extracted cresols from wastewater with high efficiency. MTBK also has good physical properties (e.g., low solubility in water, suitable boiling point). The experimental results were regressed and correlated by the NRTL and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models, which both predicted LLE data in close agreement with experiments with RMSD below 3.5%. The corresponding binary interaction parameters were also regressed by these two models, which would be useful for separation process designing or optimizing.

Liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for the ternary systems, methyl isopropyl ketone (MIPK) + (resorcinol, or hydroquinone) + water, were measured at 298.2, 313.2 and 323.2 K under atmospheric pressure by gas chromatography. The efficiency of MIPK to extract resorcinol or hydroquinone was assessed by the distribution coefficients and separation factors. The LLE data were correlated by the NRTL and UNIQUAC models to yield binary interaction parameters. MIPK was proven to be very promising to extract phenols by comparing its extraction efficiency and physical properties with other extractants used for extracting phenols in industry. The binary interaction parameters of solute pairs, e.g. MIPK-water, calculated from the NRTL or UNIQUAC models were found to agree with corresponding parameters in other LLE systems. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.