# Experimental Data and Thermodynamic Modeling of Fructose Solubility in Glycerol

## TL;DR

This paper presents new data on how much fructose can dissolve in glycerol at different temperatures, important for improving ethanol production processes.

## Contribution

The study provides new experimental fructose solubility data in glycerol and applies thermodynamic modeling for industrial applications.

## Key findings

- Fructose solubility in glycerol was measured from 308.15 to 351.15 K.
- Nývlt Equation and thermodynamic models were used to predict equilibrium.
- The combination of glycerol and fructose shows potential for extractive distillation in ethanol production.

## Abstract

Extractive distillation is widely used in industries
such as anhydrous
ethanol manufacturing. History shows several problems related to separation
agents, such as chloroform, cyclohexane, ethyl ether, carbon tetrachloride,
and ethylene acetate. Environmental agencies have restricted the use
of several solvents. There is an opening for research into less toxic
and more effective dehydrating agents. Both glycerol and fructose
are potential separation agents; glycerol has not proven viable for
commercial operation to date, and fructose, despite its potential
demonstrated in the literature, has the limitation of adding a solid
to the top of a distillation column. Hence, glycerol is intended to
add fructose to the extractive distillation column, which makes it
necessary to know the solubility of fructose in glycerol. This work
addresses new experimental data on fructose solubility in glycerol
for temperatures ranging from (308.15 to 351.15) K, together with
a fit with Nývlt Equation and thermodynamic modeling of the
equilibrium, which are essential for predicting the quaternary equilibrium
of water, ethanol, fructose, and glycerol. The study of extractive
distillation for producing anhydrous ethanol using glycerol and fructose
as extracting agents has great potential for application in the industry,
as demonstrated by the studies carried out so far.