(400h) Phase Diagram of Two Ternary Systems Water + Triacetin + Alkane by a Novel Experimental Technique

In this study, the phase diagrams of the two ternary systems water + triacetin + decane and water + triacetin + hexadecane were investigated at 25°C and atmospheric pressure. To this end, a novel experimental technique was used. In this technique, measured amounts of the three compounds were added to glass ampoules; masses were in the range of milligrams. Then, the ampoules contents were mixed using a vortex mixer and, once equilibrium was reached, the contents were centrifuged for phase disengagement. The phases were sampled and analyzed. The analysis to determine the composition of the phases was performed by mass spectrometry. Results showed that both ternary systems were of type III. In both systems, a tie triangle was observed inside the triangular diagram. Tie lines were determined in the three two-phase regions around the tie triangle. This work presents a simple and accurate way to obtain LLE and LLLE data in ternary systems. This technique uses small amounts of each component and thus it is environmentally friendly and suitable when expensive components are involved. Mass spectrometry was used in this case to analyze the samples although the technique can be combined with any analytical method. The proposed experimental technique will be used to study other systems of the type triglyceride + water + solvent. These studies will be useful in assessing the feasibility of using liquid extraction of lipids from aqueous media. This is important in advancing techniques to produce biofuels from sludge in wastewater treatment facilities or from algae.