Completely water-miscible organic solvent

Sometimes the mutual solubility of a solvent pair of interest can easily be decreased by adding a third component. For example, it is common practice to add water to a solvent system containing a water-miscible organic solvent (the polar phase) and a hydrophobic organic solvent (the nonpolar phase). A typical example is the solvent system (methanol + water) + dichloromethane. An anhydrous mixture of methanol and dichloromethane is completely miscible, but adding water causes phase splitting. Adjusting the amount of water added to the polar phase also may be used to alter the K values for the extraction, density difference, and interfacial tension. Table 15-5 lists some common examples of solvent systems of this type. These systems are common candidates for fractional extractions. 

A second liquid is sometimes added to a solution to reduce the solubility of the solute, cause its precipitation/crystallization and maximize the yield of product. It is necessary, of course, for the two liquids (the original solvent and the added precipitant) to be completely miscible with one another in all proportions. The process is commonly encountered, for instance, in the crystallization of organic substances from water-miscible organic solvents by the controlled addition of water. The term watering-out is often used in this connection. This approach is also used to reduce the solubility of an inorganic salt in aqueous solution by the addition of a water-miscible organic solvent in salting-out precipitation processes (section 7.2.5). 

Partially water-miscible organic solvents (PMOSs) may act as either cosolvents or cosolutes, and the research in the past has shown flic complexity of their effects. " It was demonstrated that in order to exert effects on solubility or sorption of HOCs, PMOSs must exist as a component of the solvent mixture in an appreciable amount Munz and Roberts suggested a mole fi action of greater than 0.005 and Rao and coworkers proposed a volume percent of 1% or a concentration above lO mg/L. Cosolvents with relatively high water solubility are likely to demonstrate observable effects on the solubilities of solutes, up to their solubility limits, in a similar manner to cosolvents of complete miscibility with water. A few experimental examples of the effects of PMOSs include 1 -butanol and... 

Figure 5.6 Illustration of the effect of a completely water-miscible solvent (CMOS, i.e., methanol) on the activity coefficient of organic compounds in water-organic solvent mixtures decadic logarithm of the activity coefficient as a function of the volume fraction of methanol. Note that the data for naphthalene (Dickhut et al., 1989 Fan and Jafvert, 1997) and for the two PCBs (Li and Andren, 1994) have been derived from solubility measurements whereas for the anilins (Jayasinghe etal., 1992), air-water partition constants determined under dilute conditions have been used to calculate y,f.

Physical Properties. Furfuryl alcohol (2-furanmethanol) [98-00-0] is aHquid, colorless, primary alcohol with a mild odor. On exposure to air, it gradually darkens in color. Furfuryl alcohol is completely miscible with water, alcohol, ether, acetone, and ethyl acetate, and most other organic solvents with the exception of paraffinic hydrocarbons. It is an exceUent, highly polar solvent, and dissolves many resins. 

Physical Properties. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (2-tetrahydrofuranmethanol) [97-99-4] (20) is a colorless, high-boiling liquid with a mild, pleasant odor. It is completely miscible with water and common organic solvents. Tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol is an excellent solvent, moderately hydrogen-bonded, essentially nontoxic, biodegradable, and has a low photochemical oxidation potential. Most appHcations make use of its high solvency. The more important physical properties of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol are Hsted in Table 1. 

The methyl and ethyl esters of cyanoacetic acid are slightly soluble ia water but are completely miscible ia most common organic solvents including aromatic hydrocarbons. The esters, like the parent acid, are highly reactive, particularly ia reactions involving the central carbon atom however, the esters tend not to decarboxylate. They are prepared by esterification of cyanoacetic acid and are used principally as chemical iatermediates. 

Butyrolactone is completely miscible with water and most organic solvents. It is only slightly soluble in aUphatic hydrocarbons. It is a good solvent for many gases, for most organic compounds, and for a wide variety of polymers. 

Solubility Properties. Fats and oils are characterized by virtually complete lack of miscibility with water. However, they are miscible in all proportions with many nonpolar organic solvents. Tme solubiHty depends on the thermal properties of the solute and solvent and the relative attractive forces between like and unlike molecules. Ideal solubiHties can be calculated from thermal properties. Most real solutions of fats and oils in organic solvents show positive deviation from ideaHty, particularly at higher concentrations. Determination of solubiHties of components of fat and oil mixtures is critical when designing separations of mixtures by fractional crystallization. 

Physical Properties. Nitrobenzene is readily soluble in most organic solvents and is completely miscible with diethyl ether and benzene. Nitrobenzene is only slightly soluble in water with a solubiUty of 0.19 parts pet 100 parts of water at 20°C and 0.8 pph at 80°C. Nitrobenzene is a good organic solvent. For example, it is used in Friedel-Crafts reactions because aluminum chloride is soluble in nitrobenzene. The physical properties of nitrobenzene are summarized in Table 1. 

Like the lower alcohols, amyl alcohols are completely miscible with numerous organic solvents and are excellent solvents for nitrocellulose, resia lacquers, higher esters, and various natural and synthetic gums and resius. However, iu contrast to the lower alcohols, they are only slightly soluble iu water. Only 2-methyl-2-butanol exhibits significant water solubiUty. As associated Hquids, amyl alcohols form a2eotropes with water and//or a variety of organic compounds (Table 3). 

Physical properties of isopropyl alcohol are characteristic of polar compounds because of the presence of the polar hydroxyl, —OH, group. Isopropyl alcohol is completely miscible ia water and readily soluble ia a number of common organic solvents such as acids, esters, and ketones. It has solubiUty properties similar to those of ethyl alcohol (qv). There is a competition between these two products for many solvent appHcations. Isopropyl alcohol has a slight, pleasant odor resembling a mixture of ethyl alcohol and acetone, but unlike ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol has a bitter, unpotable taste. 

---