Measuring Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium for Aqueous-Organic Systems: Review and a New Technique

The vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) of aqueous-organic mixtures is important in understanding the physical chemistry behind the contamination and remediation of contaminated surface water, ground water and unsaturated soils. The state of the science is assessed, and available VLE and solubility data are reviewed comprehensively for several organic compounds. Benzene, toluene, o-, m-, p-xylene, ethylbenzene, chloroform, 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), and trichloroethylene (TCE) were included in this study. Correlations are provided for estimation of VLE as a function of temperature. A new VLE apparatus was developed to extend experimental techniques found in the literature. Partitioning data for several aqueous-organic systems were measured. The collected data compared very favorably to data available in the literature. The new procedure is capable of providing high-quality data over a wide range of liquid concentrations and temperatures.