Interaction parameters for multi-component aromatic extraction with sulfolane

(Liquid+liquid) equilibria of ternary and quaternary systems containing n-hexane, toluene, m-xylene, propanol, sulfolane, and water at T=303.15K

“…Design of apparatus and determining the optimum operating conditions for aromatic extraction systems require the knowledge of multi-component (liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data [1][2][3][4]. Such experimental LLE data are usually not available and therefore should be predicted using various thermodynamic models such as activity coefficient.…”

“…These models require proper binary interaction parameters, which are not yet available for all aromatic extraction systems [4]. Because of the important industrial application of sulfolane (tetramethylene sulfone), many investigators have studied the LLE of ternary and quaternary systems containing sulfolane and aromatic hydrocarbons [4][5][6][7][8]. Aromatics such as benzene, toluene, and xylene are considered essential in the chemical industry because they are the source of many organic chemicals.…”

“…High purity aromatics are difficult to separate using ordinary distillation operation, since they form several binary azeotropes with aliphatics. Therefore, considering technical, economical and environmental aspects, extraction is the best choice to separate the aromatics from the naphtha feed [4]. It is worth noting that using a suitable pure or mixed-solvent has an important role in the extraction efficiency of industrial separation processes.…”

Liquid+liquid equilibria for ternary mixtures of (solvent+aromatic hydrocarbon+alkane)

“…Especially, ternary liquid + liquid equilibrium (LLE) data are essential for a proper understanding of the solvent extraction process [1]. Because solvents such as sulfolane, DMSO, and ethylene carbonate have been widely used in the recovery of aromatics, such as benzene, toluene, and m-xylene from refinery process streams, many investigators have studied the liquid + liquid phase equilibria for ternary and quaternary mixtures of solvents + aromatic hydrocarbons + alkanes [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] The separation of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons has been an area of active research [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Also, in this case, the search for suitability of new solvents that can be used in liquid + liquid extraction is an ongoing investigation.…”

Modeling of the FCC Gasoline Desulfurization Process by Liquid Extraction with Sulfolane

“…In the petroleum refining industry, sulfolane is a commercial extraction solvent mostly used for aromatics extraction from different petroleum fractions (Ahmad et al, 2004;Khanna et al, 2004;Espada et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2008). Because part of the sulfur in petroleum is present in the form aromatic compounds (Brunet et al, 2005), this solvent is an interesting candidate for extraction desulfurization of FCC gasoline.…”