Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Organic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: sprotz on April 26, 2020, 03:59:16 PM
-
Please humble me with your wisdom and knowledge and tell me how I can separate Toluene and Benzene from Petrol/Gasoline.
-
Probably by destillation.
-
@OP,
According to the forum rules, you must provide us with your thoughts before we can help you.
-
Ok, I'm thinking fractional distillation by using a fractionating column, but petrol has so many different compounds that I don't know where in the column Toluene will condense. I'm wondering if there is a better option.
-
Will fractional distillation separate benzene and toluene well and quickly from the so many compounds in gasoline?
It depends also on the goal: obtain some impure benzene and toluene, or get them pure, or remove them as completely as possible from gasoline. The targeted cost per kg also defines much.
It's very possible that further steps are needed beyond distillation, for instance crystallisation or just some solidification. Looks very interesting for benzene, which melts at +6°C while n-heptane or n-hexane with similar boiling point melt around -80°C. But toluene doesn't differ much from alkanes and alkenes.
Pressure swing adsorption, if some surface binds aromatics better?