Construction of Ternary Diagram for Liquid-Liquid Extraction Process Using Computer-Based Program

Oct 26, 2026

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Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is a liquid-liquid phase mass transfer operation in which solutes move between two immiscible or partially miscible liquids according to solubility differences. Phase equilibrium relations are difficult to treat algebraically, so LLE analyses are often performed graphically, yet manual ternary diagram construction becomes slow and cumbersome for processes requiring many stages. This work builds a customized MATLAB package using a fuzzy inference system toolbox and line functions, and validates it with literature data for theoretical stage numbers, showing good agreement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background of LLE and need for ternary diagrams

Phase equilibrium and graphical methods (McCabe Thiele vs ternary)

Principles of ternary phase diagrams for LLE

Article Info

Abstract

Article history

Keywords

LAUTECH Journal of Engineering and Technology 18 (2) 2024: 138-147 10.36108/laujet/4202.81.0231 Construction of ternary diagram for liquid-liquid extraction process using computer-based program *Sulayman A. A., Araromi D. O., Ayodeji O. S., Giwa S. B., Akinwumi O. D. and Salam K. K. Chemical Engineering Department, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria | Article Info | ABSTRACT Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is a liquid-liquid phase mass transfer process in which solute chemicals are transferred between two immiscible or partially miscible liquids due to the difference in solubility of the solutes in the two liquids. The phase equilibrium relationships are generally inconvenient to handle algebraically, therefore, LLE computational analyses are usually made graphically. Manual construction of a ternary diagram becomes cumbersome, tedious, and time-consuming when used for a process that requires a large number
of stages. Therefore, this work aimed to develop a customized computer package for the ternary diagram. The customized computer package for the ternary diagram construction was achieved with the use of a fuzzy inference system toolbox and primitive line function in MATLAB. The computer program was testrun using data from the literature to determine the theoretical number of stages for a given LLE separation process. The result compared well with the existing literature results. | | --- | --- | | Article history:
Received: May 25, 2024
Revised: June 21, 2024
Accepted: June 27, 2024 | | | Keywords:
Liquid-Liquid Extraction, Ternary, simulation, MATLAB, ANFIS.
Corresponding Author:
[aasulayman@lautech.edu.ng](aasulayman@lautech.edu.ng) | | INTRODUCTION Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is an important unit operation process in chemical process industries for the separation of solute chemicals from one solvent to another solvent based on the difference in the solubility of the solute chemicals in two solvents (Zhang & Hu, 2013) . The two solvents must be either immiscible or partially miscible with eachother (Schmidt and Strube, 2018) . Separation is achieved because the solute chemicals are preferentially more soluble in one of the solvents. In LLE processes, the feed -stream that consists of solute chemicals is separated and the original solvent known as diluent is contacted with a stream consisting of a new solvent. The stream that comes out from the contacting unit consists of two phases – one is a solvent-rich phase called the extract phase and the other one is a diluent-rich phase called raffinate. The two phases are at thermodynamic equilibrium (Lamm and Jarboe, 2021) . The desired separation may not be achieved in a single contacting stage, therefore multiple contacting stages may be needed to produce a significant separation. The phase equilibrium relationships are generally inconvenient to handle algebraically, therefore LLE computational analyses are usually made graphically. The two common graphical methods used are McCabe Thiele and ternary phase diagram methods. The McCabe Thiele method is best suited for conditions of total immiscibility while the ternary diagram method is most suitable for partial immiscibility solutions. Ternary diagram is a phase diagram used to describe the equilibrium behaviour of a three-component system. It is used to describe all three components in a liquid-liquid phase mixture of one plot (Magdahand Nory, 2017) . Triangle (equilateral) phase diagrams are commonly used and is based on the property of an equilateral triangle in which the sum of the perpendicular distances from any point within the triangle to the three sides equals the altitude of the triangle (Magdah and Nory, 2017) . The altitude represents 100% composition and the distances to the three sides represent the percentages or fractions of the three components. Each apex of the triangle represents a pure component, and each side represents the bin

FAQs

What is the main objective of the study?

To develop a customized computer package that constructs ternary diagrams for liquid-liquid extraction processes, reducing the effort required by manual construction.

Why is a ternary diagram used in LLE analysis?

It describes the equilibrium behavior of a three-component system in a single plot and supports extraction design by providing phase composition and equilibrium-related information.

How does the proposed computer package determine theoretical stages?

It uses MATLAB-based computations to construct the ternary diagram and then uses literature data to estimate the theoretical number of stages for a given LLE separation process.

Oct 26, 2026

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