Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, Vol.49, No.5, 1290-1294, 2004
Solubility and mass transfer coefficient enhancement of benzyl acetate in water through hydrotropy
A comprehensive investigation of the solubility and mass transfer coefficient enhancement of benzyl acetate through hydrotropy has been undertaken. The solubility studies have been carried out with hydrotropes such as citric acid, urea, sodium benzoate, and sodium salicylate for a wide concentration range from 0 to 3.0 mol/L-1 along with system temperature from T = 303 to 333 K. The effectiveness of hydrotropes was measured by the determination of Setschenow constant "K-s". The solubility of benzyl acetate increases with increasing hydrotrope concentration and also with system temperature. A minimum hydrotrope concentration (MHC) in the aqueous phase was required to initiate significant solubilization of benzyl acetate. Consequent to the increase in solubilization of benzyl acetate, the mass transfer coefficient was also found to increase with increasing hydrotrope concentration. A threshold value of MHC is to be maintained to have an appreciable enhancement in the mass transfer coefficient. The maximum enhancement factor, which is the ratio of the value in the presence and absence of a hydrotrope, has been determined for all sets of experiments.