Vapor−liquid equilibrium (VLE) and liquid−liquid equilibrium (LLE) were measured for the ternary system of methyl acetate + methanol + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][Ac]). The experimental LLE data were correlated by the NRTL model and the binary interaction parameters obtained from LLE were used to predict the ternary VLE, and the results agreed well with the experimental data. The results showed that the ionic liquid ([EMIM][Ac]) produced a notable salting-out effect, which enhanced the relative volatility of methyl acetate and methanol.

The kinetic behavior and chemical equilibrium of the transesterification of methyl acetate with n-butanol catalyzed by an ionic liquid were investigated. The effects of reaction temperature, initial reactant molar ratio, and catalyst concentration on the reaction rate were studied. A reaction mechanism for transesterification catalyzed by ionic liquid is proposed based on Brønsted theory. Two different kinetic models, the ideal homogeneous (IH) model and the nonideal homogeneous (NIH) model, were used to correlate the kinetic data. The NIH model was able to describe the reaction rate reliably. The ionic liquid catalyst was compared with the conventional inorganic acid and ion-exchange resin catalysts sulfuric acid and Amberlyst 15, and it was found to be more active than the two conventional catalysts.

The vapor−liquid equilibrium (VLE) and liquid− liquid equilibrium (LLE) of the ternary system of ethyl acetate + ethanol + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([EMIM][Ac]), together with the vapor−liquid−liquid equilibrium (VLLE) for the binary system of ethyl acetate + [EMIM][Ac], were measured. The experimental VLE, LLE, and VLLE data were correlated by the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) equation, and the calculated results agreed well with the experimental results. The VLE and VLLE results show that [EMIM][Ac] can enhance the relative volatility of ethyl acetate to ethanol, and the azeotrope of ethyl acetate + ethanol can be eliminated. The LLE data indicate that [EMIM][Ac] is a potential solvent for the separation of ethyl acetate + ethanol via liquid−liquid extraction.