Issue 6, 2011

Separation of ethanol–water mixtures by liquid–liquid extraction using phosphonium-based ionic liquids

Abstract

Bio-alcohols are produced from biomass by fermentation, and distillation is commonly used to separate the alcohol from the aqueous phase. This is, however, a high energy consumption process, and alternative approaches to this separation are being pursued. In this work, the use of phosphonium-based ionic liquids (ILs) for the extraction of ethanol from fermentation broths is investigated. Ternary phase diagrams, necessary for the design and to implement an alternative liquid–liquid extraction process for the alcohol recovery, were determined for seven ionic liquids. The modelling of the equilibrium data was performed using the COSMO-RS and NRTL models; the first aiming at screening other ionic liquids not experimentally studied, and the latter aiming at designing a separation process. The gathered data indicate that phosphonium-based ionic liquids are the best yet reported to perform waterethanol separations. Based on the most promising phase diagrams, an analysis of the alcohol and ionic liquid recovery steps was carried out and a liquid–liquid extraction stage coupled to an extractive fermentation, where the ionic liquid is continuously recycled to the fermentator and the ethanol concentration is carried out by pervaporation, is here proposed as an alternative to distillation.

Graphical abstract: Separation of ethanol–water mixtures by liquid–liquid extraction using phosphonium-based ionic liquids

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Jan 2011
Accepted
28 Mar 2011
First published
03 May 2011

Green Chem., 2011,13, 1517-1526

Separation of ethanolwater mixtures by liquid–liquid extraction using phosphonium-based ionic liquids

C. M. S. S. Neves, J. F. O. Granjo, M. G. Freire, A. Robertson, N. M. C. Oliveira and J. A. P. Coutinho, Green Chem., 2011, 13, 1517 DOI: 10.1039/C1GC15079K

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