METHYL ACETATE/METHANOL/WATER SYSTEM

Mixtures of methyl acetate, methanol, and water are generated in the

production of polyvinyl alcohol. Both the methyl acetate and the methanol
must be recovered for recycling or for further processing. It is ternary system
that is fairly non-ideal
VaporLiquid Equilibrium
Methyl acetate and methanol form a homogeneous minimum-boiling
azeotrope at 1.1 atm with a composition of 66.4 mol% methyl acetate and a
temperature of 329 K. This means that the overhead product from a
distillation column separating this binary mixture cannot have a methyl
acetate composition greater than this azeotropic composition. In addition,
methyl acetate and water form a homogeneous minimum-boiling azeotrope
at 1.1 atm with a composition of 88.84 mol% methyl acetate and a
temperature of 333.8 K.

Figure 1: Txy diagram for methyl acetate/methanol.

Figure 2: Txy diagram for methyl acetate/water.

Reference:
Distillation design and control using aspentm simulation by William L. Luyben