The Demonstration shows the VLE (vapor-liquid equilibrium) behavior of the ternary system composed of acetone, methanol, and the solvent. In particular, solvent-free acetone mole fraction in the vapor phase is plotted versus its counterpart in the liquid phase.

It is clear that for both water and chlorobenzene the binary azeotrope disappears. In addition, volatility inversion is observed for the case of chlorobenzene. The practical implication of this observation is that the heavier methanol will exit the extractive distillation column at the top, while the light acetone will exit as a bottom product mixed with the extrainer.