Experimental and Thermodynamic Modeling of Quaternary Aqueous Two-Phase System of Poly Ethylene Glycol, Sodium Tartrate, Water and Penicillin G

In present study, the liquid–liquid equilibrium of the quaternary system of polyethylene glycol (PEG) (with molar masses of 1000, 2000, 6000, and 8000 g·mol⁻¹), sodium tartrate salt, Penicillin G and water at 298 K were investigated. The partitioning of Penicillin G between two aqueous phases was also reported. The extended non random two liquid (NRTL) and extended Universal Quasi Chemical (UNIQUAC) models were used to correlate the experimental equilibrium data. The parameters of these activity coefficient models were optimized for the investigated systems. The results show that the polymer molar mass has a dominant effect on the partition coefficient of Penicillin G. Also, results of both thermodynamic models were very satisfactory and satisfactory predicted the equilibrium concentrations of the components in ATPS. Comparison of the absolute average deviation of the two models shows that the extended UNIQUAC model was superior to the extended NRTL model for correlation and interpolation of phase equilibrium data.