Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Napoleon Ballroom C-D, 3rd fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
2,5-Dimethylfuran (DMF) is a promising biofuel which can be obtained from renewable sources, in a catalytic biomass-to-liquid process that converts fructose, obtained directly from biomass or by the isomerization of glucose, first in hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and next in DMF. Compared with ethanol, DMF has several advantages as a biofuel: its energy density is 40% higher (much closer to that of gasoline); it has a higher boiling point, which makes it less volatile and more practical for transportation; and it is insoluble in water, which makes it more stable in storage. In the DMF production, the separation of the biofuel from the solvents used in the reaction is a crucial step. For the design, operation and optimization of this process, liquid-liquid equilibrium data are essential; however, there are no such data available in literature. In this work, liquid-liquid equilibrium data on the ternary systems water + 2,5-dimethylfuran + solvent (1-butanol or 1-hexanol or methylisobutylketone) were determined at 298.2 K and ambient pressure. The experimental data were obtained in jacketed glass cells, according to a standard methodology and the tie-line compositions were determined by using simultaneously gas chromatography and Karl Fischer potentiometric titration. The experimental data have been satisfactorily represented by using the NRTL model for the activity coefficient.