Vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) and vapor–liquid–liquid equilibrium (VLLE) data were measured for the ethanol/diisopropyl ether (DIPE)/water, n-propanol/DIPE/water, and n-propanol/2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane)/water systems at 101.3 kPa. The data were carefully measured in a Guillespie type still, equipped with an ultrasonic homogenizer. The VLE data were found to be thermodynamically consistent, and the LLE part of the VLLE data followed a regular profile according to the Othmer–Tobias correlation. VLLE were observed in the temperature ranges of (334.19 to 336.29) K, (335.31 to 345.76) K, and (347.74 to 352.31) K for the ethanol/DIPE/water, n-propanol/DIPE/water, and n-propanol/isooctane/water systems, respectively. These VLLE regions encompassed wide ranges for water and entrainer composition, with alcohol mole fractions of up to approximately 0.4. The ethanol/DIPE/water and n-propanol/isooctane/water systems displayed ternary heterogeneous azeotropes at (334.19 and 347.74) K, respectively. However, no ternary heterogeneous azeotrope was found for the n-propanol/DIPE/water system. The measured data were subsequently modeled in Aspen Plus with the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL), universal functional UNIFAC(VLE), UNIFAC(LLE), and universal quasichemical UNIQUAC activity coefficient models, applying the default regression parameters built into Aspen Plus. UNIFAC(VLE) predicted the ethanol/DIPE/water system most accurately, while UNIQUAC performed the best for the n-propanol/DIPE/water. However, none of these models could predict the n-propanol/isooctane/water system with acceptable accuracy. The results of this study strongly support proposals that DIPE or di-n-propyl ether (DNPE) could be used as effective entrainers for alcohol dehydration, replacing the more traditional entrainers like benzene and cyclohexane.

To exploit the competitive advantage of a core competency, such as new technology development, an organisation must be capable of developing that technology efficiently and effectively. The purpose of this research was to study the new product development success and failure factors in a chemical company, and recommend improvements to the existing new product development framework. The study is significant in that new product development performance needs to be improved to remain competitive in the current economic and environmental climate. The same new product development model is applied to all projects in the company under investigation. A preliminary investigation suggested that the success rate of these projects fluctuates significantly. Qualitative case study research was conducted through semistructured face-to-face interviews. A thematic approach was used to organise and interpret the interview data. As the data was coded, several sub-themes emerged, and from these themes critical success factors and critical failure factors were identified. All of these factors were discussed and compared against the literature for relevance. The critical success factors and critical failure factors were divided into three categories: input requirements, stage kickoff guidelines, and continuous prompts. In this format these factors are recommended as potential improvements to the organisation's existing new product development framework.