Separation technology, thermodynamic systems

Certain techniques for the application of thermodynamics in separation technology are introduced in Chapter 11, for example, the concept of residue curve maps, a general procedure for the choice of suitable solvents for the separation of azeotropic systems, the verification of model parameters prior to process simulation and the identification of separation problems. 

Phase behavior 1n concentrated aqueous electrolyte systems is of interest for a variety of applications such as separation processes for complex salts, hydrometal 1urgical extraction of metals, interpretation of geological data and development of high energy density batteries. Our interest in developing simple thermodynamic correlations for concentrated salt systems was motivated by the need to interpret the complex solid-liquid equilibria which occur in the extraction of sodium nitrate from complex salt mixtures which occur in Northern Chile (Chilean saltpeter). However, we believe the thermodynamic approach can also be applied to other areas of technological interest. 

Gorak and Vogelpohl (1985) present an experimental study of ternary distillation in a packed column. The system used was methanol(l)-2-propanol(2)-water(3) and the column was 0.1 m wide and filled with Sulzer CY packing. Use the nonequilibrium model to simulate their experiments. Investigate the sensitivity of the simulation results to the thermodynamic model parameters. Write an article in the format required by Separation Science Technology that summarizes your calculations. 

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