Liquid-liquid equilibria for separation of tocopherol from olive oil using ethyl lactate

In this paper, the potential application of non-toxic agrochemical solvent—ethyl lactate, to recover α-tocopherol from olive oil is studied. The work is based on experimental and modeling studies of the liquid–liquid equilibria at ambient pressure of three model systems: (i) binary (olive oil + ethyl lactate), (ii) pseudo-binary (ethyl lactate + (olive oil containing 11.60 mass% of oleic acid)), (iii) ((ethyl lactate containing 2.80% of water) + olive oil), and (iv) ternary (α-tocopherol + olive oil + ethyl lactate). The favorable separation factors obtained reveal the strength and potential of ethyl lactate as a green solvent for the recovery.