Liquid–liquid equilibrium data of aqueous two-phase
systems
(ATPS) composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 + sodium sulfate
+ water, PEG 8000 + ammonium sulfate + water, and PEG 8000 + magnesium
sulfate + water at T = 298.15, 308.15, and 318.15
K and pH 2.0 were determined. The universal function activity coefficient
(UNIFAC) model was correlated to the experimental tie-line data, and
the root-mean-square deviations (RMSDs) between experimental and calculated
data were considered in the calculation. The effects of temperature
and cation type on the spinodal curves were evaluated. The salting-out
effect was studied by the determination of the effective excluded
volume (EEV). Rising temperature resulted in an increase in the biphasic
region and tie-lines. Regarding the cation type, the phase-separation
abilities followed the order Mg2+ > Na+ >
(NH4)+. Increases in the overall composition
of the
systems resulted in increased tie-line lengths. The tie-line slope
absolute values also tended to rise with increasing temperature. Increasing
the ATPS constituent concentrations resulted in an increase in the
phase densities. The increase in temperature resulted in an increase
in the salting-out effect. The exclusion volume values increased in
the following order: (NH4)+ < Na+ < Mg2+. The overall mean deviation between the experimental
and correlated LLE compositions for the PEG 8000 + ammonium sulfate
+ water, PEG 8000 + magnesium sulfate + water, and PEG 8000 g mol–1 + sodium sulfate + water was 3.901%. The results
of the UNIFAC model agree with the experimental tie-line values. This
allows the use of this model to obtain reliable data for this system,
thus reducing the number of experiments to be performed for a processing
design.