Separation of ethyl acetate and n-heptane by Extractive Distillation

N-methyl pyrrolidone was chosen as the solvent for separation of ethyl acetate and n-heptane system in extractive distillation by the UNIFAC group contribution method.The vapor-liquid equilibrium for ethyl acetate and n-heptane system with N-methyl pyrrolidone under atmospheric pressure was performed.It indicated N-methyl pyrrolidone can effectively break the azeotrope system.With the reflux ratio of 1.0, the mass fraction of n-heptane reaches 98.3% in a packed column of 35 theoretical plates, and the recovery was about 73.4%.Finally, Aspen Plus was used to simulate the separation of ethyl acetate and n-heptane system in continuous extractive distillation process.The n-heptane was obtained with mass fraction of 99.5% at the top of the extractive distillation column and N-methyl pyrrolidone was recycled at the bottom of solvent recovery tower.The study can provide reference for further industrial application. © 2017, China National Chemical Information Center. All right reserved.