Extraction of guaiacol from hydrocarbons as an alternative for the upgraded bio-oil purification: Experimental and computational thermodynamic study

•Methanol, ethanol and acetone are assessed for extracting guaiacol from alkanes.•Methanol is a promising solvent for extracting guaiacol due to its high selectivity.•Experimental and modeling study is done for the extraction of guaiacol from alkanes.•COSMO-based models predict the guaiacol + methanol + alkane equilibrium properly.