Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium in the Acetic Acid-Ethanol-Ethyl Acetate-Water Quaternary System: Critical Literature Review and Thermodynamic Consistency of the Experimental Data

Abstract

This study presents a critical review of the experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the quaternary acetic acid-ethanol-ethyl acetate-water system and its subsystems that are reported in the literature. The thermodynamic consistency of the VLE data were verified using two integral tests: the Redlich–Kister test and the direct integration of the Gibbs–Duhem equation. The VLE data were correlated using the NRTL equation for further integration. Additionally, the reliable value of the integral derived from the direct integration of the Gibbs–Duhem equation for multicomponent systems under isothermal-isobaric conditions was estimated. This integral can be used for testing the thermodynamic consistency of experimental VLE data.