Phase Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Modeling of 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran-3-one, Carbon Dioxide, and Lauric Acid Systems

In this study, the phase equilibrium behavior of the ternary system (CO2 + MeTHF-3-one + lauric acid) was investigated to provide insights into the enzymatic synthesis of sugar-based surfactants. Experimental data were obtained over the 313.15 to 343.15 K temperature range and at pressures of up to 13.02 MPa using a static synthetic method with a variable volume visualization cell. Three different concentrations of lauric acid for MeTHF-3-one, 0.3%, 1.3%, and 2.5 mol %, were examined. Vapor-liquid transitions were successfully observed and modeled by the Peng-Robinson equation of state with the PR-vdW2 variant. Adding lauric acid did not impact the transition pressures compared with CO2-MeTHF-3-one binary systems. The LCST behavior type, with increasing transition pressures as temperatures increased, was consistent across all systems studied.