Biofuel, that is, n-butanol, production
from plant-based
biomass represents a renewable energy resource that can be a substitute
for fossil fuel. Thus, it is important to study the separation of n-butanol from its aqueous solution to obtain a high-purity
product. Liquid–liquid extraction is a beneficial process in
alcohol production to recover alcohol from the aqueous medium. Liquid–liquid
equilibrium (LLE) data are needed for rational design and optimal
separation operation, such as biological separation and extraction
processes. The objective of this study is to determine LLE data for
quaternary systems of n-butanol, methyl isobutyl
ketone (MIBK), water, and a biological buffer at 303.15 K and atmospheric
pressure (P = 0.1 MPa). The effect of biological
buffer addition into aqueous solution was also studied. Three different
biological buffers, 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine propanesulfonic
acid (EPPS), 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid (MOPS), and 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic
acid (HEPES), were applied in this study for the comparison. The separation
factor and distribution coefficient were evaluated in this study to
interpret the extraction performance of n-butanol.
According to the experimental results, the extraction performance
was in the order of HEPES > EPPS > MOPS, describing the strength
of
buffering-out as well. Furthermore, it was found that the aid of a
biological buffer in the LLE systems consisting of n-butanol, MIBK, and water resulted in better extraction performance
than that of the LLE systems in the absence of a biological buffer.
The reliability of the experimental LLE tie-line data was satisfactorily
ascertained by the Hand correlation. The non-random two-liquid and
universal quasi-chemical thermodynamics models correlated well the
experimental LLE tie-line data with the root mean square deviation
of less than 1%. The binary interaction parameters of both models
were also obtained in this study.