(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) data (water + 1,2-butanediol + 2-ethyl-1-hexanol) and (water + propanediol + 2-ethyl-1-hexanol) were determined at T = 298.2 K and atmospheric pressure. Phase diagrams were obtained for these ternary systems. Distribution coefficients and separation factors were measured to evaluate the extracting capability of the solvent. The UNIQUAC model was used to correlate the observed LLE data with a root mean square deviation value of 1.75 and 0.74 for 1,2-butanediol and propanediol mixtures, respectively. The reliability of the experimental data was confirmed by using the Othmer-Tobias correlation. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.