Vapor–Liquid Equilibria, Excess Enthalpy, and Density of Aqueous γ‑Valerolactone Solutions

Thermodynamic measurements were made for the binary mixture of water + γ-valerolactone (GVL) and for pure GVL to facilitate the development of the technology of lignin removal from lignocellulosic biomass ( Fang W. ; Sixta H. Advanced Biorefinery based on the Fractionation of Biomass in γ - Valerolactone and Water. ChemSusChem 2015, 8, 73−76 ). The density and vapor pressure of pure GVL as a function of temperature were measured and correlated for a wide range of the temperatures and pressures. Isothermal vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data of the binary mixture of water + GVL were measured at 350.2 K with a static total pressure apparatus. Absence of an azeotrope was confirmed by circulation still measurements with diluted GVL solutions. Excess molar enthalpy (h E) of the mixture for the whole range of mole fractions including infinite dilution was measured using a SETARAM C80 calorimeter equipped with a flow mixing cell at 322.6 and 303.2 K. The VLE and h E data were used for the optimization of UNIQUAC and NRTL activity coefficient model parameters. The experimental results are compared herein with those predicted by COSMO-RS and UNIFAC-Dortmund models. The water + GVL binary mixture shows positive deviation from Raoult’s law.