Abstract

NUNEZ-GOMEZ, Karen-Stephanie; LOPEZ-MENDOZA, Liliana-Carolina; LOPEZ-GIRALDO, Luis-Javier  and  MUVDI-NOVA, Carlos-Jesús. STUDY OF ACETONE, BUTANOL AND ETHANOL LIQUID EXTRACTION FROM PREPARED AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS USING MEMBRANE CONTACTOR TECHNIQUE. C.T.F Cienc. Tecnol. Futuro [online]. 2014, vol.5, n.4, pp.97-112. ISSN 0122-5383.

Fermentative production of butanol using Clostridium acetobutylicum results in a mixture of acetone/ butanol/ethanol (ABE), which reaches a maximum concentration between 26 and 32.6 kg/m³, as a consequence of product inhibition. These low ABE concentrations demand an efficient separation system that allows the continuous ABE extraction. This study evaluated the extraction of ABE's prepared aqueous solutions with membrane contactors technique by using commercial extracting solvents (petroleum ether, hexane and toluene). The influence of temperature and initial concentration of butanol on the process was analyzed, in the range of 30 - 40°C and 4.8 - 20 kg/m³ respectively, using a response surface experimental design (central composite 2²+star), and finding the optimal values considering batch analysis (42°C and 1.65 kg of 1-butanol/m³ as initial concentration). The experimental analysis was carried out by using Statgraphics Centurion XVI.I^®. The approach of a mathematical model was performed, obtaining an error of 14.4% and 12.2% for acetone and butanol final concentrations in toluene solvent phase, respectively. It was concluded that extraction is achievable for recovery of acetone and butanol, by using toluene as solvent extractor, and obtaining partition coefficients of 0.761 for acetone and 0.998 for butanol.

Keywords : ABE; Separation; Contactors; PTFE membrane.

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