Prediction of vapor-liquid equilibria for the alcohol + glycerol systems using UNIFAC and modified UNIFAC (Dortmund)

The vapor-liquid equilibria for eight systems of alcohols + glycerol at 101.325 kPa have been predicted in this study using UNIFAC and Modified UNIFAC (Dortmund) group contribution methods. The investigated alcohols were methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol and 2-methyl-2-propanol. In order to study the accuracy of both contribution methods, the predicted data obtained from both approaches were compared to the experimental data from the literature. The prediction accuracy using modified UNIFAC (Dortmund) give better results compared to the UNIFAC method for (ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol and 1-butanol) + glycerol but UNIFAC method show better accuracy for methanol + glycerol system. In addition, the influences of carbon chain length on the phase behaviours of alcohol + glycerol systems were also discussed as well.