Galanakis, CM; Goulas, V; Tsakona, S; Manganaris, GA; Gekas, V
The current study denotes the prediction of activity
coefficients of fifteen natural phenols (tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, caffeic, cinnamic,
p-coumaric, ferulic, gallic, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-hydroxyphenyl acetic, protocatechuic,
rosmarinic, sinapic, syringic, and vanillic acid) in seven solvents (water, ethanol, methanol,
acetone, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and diethyl ether), and three extraction temperatures
(298.15, 313.15, and 333.15 K), using the universal functional-group activity coefficient model.
Solvents were classified for their ability to dissolve phenols and were compared with
experimental data of the literature in order to observe if the solvent extraction of phenols in
practice matches with the authors theoretical approach. Results indicated the superiority of
alcohols and acetone for the recovery of phenols in line with experimental data of previous
studies. Furthermore, activity coefficients values were found to increase with the increase of
temperature. This study provided a knowledge base for the selection of the most appropriate
solvents for a given phenolic compound.
