Habenicht et al. (1995. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 34:3784) report on the reaction of t-butyl alcohol (TBA) and ethanol (EtOH) to form ethyltertiary-butyl ether (ETBE). The reaction is conducted at 170°C. A typical feed stream composition (in mole fraction) is:

Isobutene is the only significant by-product. Assuming that equilibrium is reached in the outlet stream, estimate the minimum pressure at which the reaction must be conducted in order to maintain everything in the liquid phase. Do isobutene or ETBE exceed their liquid solubility limits at the outlet conditions?

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ТВА EtOH H₂O 0.027 0.832 0.141