Isobaric vapor liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the acrylonitrile-isopropyl alcohol binary system were measured at 10.0, 50.0, and 100.0 kPa. It showed that the system forms a minimum-boiling azeotrope at each of the three studied pressures with different compositions and boiling temperatures. The experimental data were correlated with the NRTL, Wilson, and UNIQUAC activity coefficient models, and their binary interaction parameters were obtained correspondingly. Thermodynamic consistency was verified using both the Fredenslund method and Redlich–Kister area test. According to the maximum absolute deviation, root-mean-square deviation, and average absolute deviation, all three models provided satisfactory correlations with the experimental data. In view of the differences in the azeotropic composition and VLE behavior of acrylonitrile-isopropyl alcohol at 10.0 and 100.0 kPa, pressure-swing distillation could be used to separate the components. This work provided a crucial thermodynamic basis for the design and optimization of distillation processes for separating the acrylonitrile and isopropanol mixtures.
Wu et al. (2026) studied this question.