Extractive distillation is one of the most effective processes for the separation of ethylbenzene and p-xylene. The goal was to find single solvents or combinations of multi-solvents with good properties while minimizing the ratio of solvent to feed. The distillations were performed at equilibrium to determine the relative volatility of ethylbenzene to p-xylene with the extractive solvents under isothermal condition. For a single extraction solvent, 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene had the highest relative volatility at 1.123. In some cases, combinations of two or three solvents were used as well as different ratios of solvent to feed to investigate the synergy effect of the mixture solvents. The binary solvent mixture of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and maleic anhydride (2 : 1) had the best performance with a relative volatility of 1.228 at the solvent/feed ratio of 1 : 1. Some of the solvents were further studied at different solvent/feed (S/F) ratios. Selected solvents generally tended to have higher relative volatilities at high S/F ratios, but the operation cost will increase. Therefore, it is important to find the proper conditions to optimize the S/F ratio for extractive distillation from the industrial point of view.

− Various La-based perovskite catalysts were prepared by a Pechini method, and they were applied to the low-temperature oxidation of odor compounds exhausted from waste food treatment process for effective deodorization. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of exhausted gas were conducted to measure the amount of major odor compounds with respect to operation time. A standard odor sample composed of major odor compounds was then prepared for use as a feed for oxidation reaction system. Various transition metal(M)-substituted La-based perovskite catalysts (LaMO 3 : M=Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) were prepared and applied to the oxidation of odor compounds in order to investigate the effect of transition metal M. Among the catalysts tested, LaNiO 3 catalyst showed the best catalytic performance. Pt-substituted perovskite catalysts (LaNi 1-x Pt x O 3 : x=0, 0.03, 0.1, and 0.3) were then prepared for enhancing the catalytic performance. It was found that LaNi 0.9 Pt 0.1 O 3 catalyst served as the most efficient catalyst. Supported perovskite catalysts (XLaNi 0.9 Pt 0.1 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 : X=perovskite content(wt%), 0,10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 100) were finally applied for the purpose of maximizing the catalytic performance of perovskite catalyst in the low-temperature oxidation reaction. Catalytic performance of XLaNi 0.9 Pt 0.1 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalysts showed a volcano-shaped curve with respect to perovskite content. Among the catalysts tested, 20LaNi 0.9 Pt 0.1 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalyst exhibited the highest conversion of odor compounds of 88.7% at 180 o C.