Quaternary and ternary LLE measurements for solvent (2-methyltetrahydrofuran and cyclopentyl methyl ether) + furfural + acetic acid + water between 298 and 343 K

The suitability of two promising solvents for the extraction of furfural from aqueous streams is assessed through novel quaternary and ternary liquid-liquid equilibria data for mixtures of solvent (2-methyltetrahydrofuran or cyclopentyl methyl ether) + acetic acid + furfural + water. The measured data between 298 and 343 K at atmospheric pressure are reported along with regressed binary interaction parameters for UNIQUAC-HOC activity coefficient model and further analyzed through distribution coefficients and selectivity for both acetic acid and furfural. Cyclopentyl methyl ether shows promising characteristics towards selective furfural extraction from a stream containing both studied solutes. Distribution coefficients below 1 are observed for acetic acid and as high as 9 for furfural in the quaternary mixtures.