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Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Butanol from Dilute Aqueous Solutions Using Soybean-Derived Biodiesel

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Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

Liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) of mixtures of butanol, 1,3-propanediol (PDO), and ethanol was performed using soybean-derived biodiesel as the extractant. The composition of the mixtures simulated the product of the anaerobic fermentation of biodiesel-derived crude glycerol, which has recently been reported for the first time by the authors. Using a biodiesel: with an aqueous phase volume ratio of 1:1, butanol recovery ranged from 45 to 51% at initial butanol concentrations of 150 and 225 mM, respectively. Less than 10% of the ethanol was extracted, and essentially no PDO was extracted. The partition coefficient for butanol in biodiesel was determined to be 0.91 ± 0.097. This partition coefficient is less than that of oleyl alcohol, which is considered the standard for LLE. However, butanol is suitable for blending with biodiesel, which would eliminate the need for separating the butanol after extraction. Additionally, biodiesel is much less costly than oleyl alcohol. If biodiesel-derived glycerol is used as the feedstock for butanol production, and biodiesel is used as the extractant to recover butanol from the fermentation broth, production of a biodiesel/butanol fuel blend could be a fully integrated process within a biodiesel facility. This process could ultimately help reduce the cost of butanol separation and ultimately help improve the overall economics of butanol fermentation using renewable feedstocks.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant number 2007-35504-18253.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alabama in Huntsville, 130 Engineering Building, Huntsville, AL, 35899, USA

    Lalleh Adhami, Bennie Griggs, Patrick Himebrook & Katherine Taconi

Authors
  1. Lalleh Adhami
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  2. Bennie Griggs
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  3. Patrick Himebrook
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  4. Katherine Taconi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katherine Taconi.

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Adhami, L., Griggs, B., Himebrook, P. et al. Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Butanol from Dilute Aqueous Solutions Using Soybean-Derived Biodiesel. J Am Oil Chem Soc 86, 1123–1128 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-009-1447-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-009-1447-7

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