The
separation of itaconic acid (0.2 mmol·kg–1)
from its aqueous solution is performed by dissolving tri-n-octylamine (TOA) in the biocompatible mixtures of 1-decanol
+ n-dodecane, dodecanol + n-dodecane,
and oleyl alcohol + n-dodecane at different compositions.
Also, the physical extraction data are presented with dodecane, oleyl
alcohol, dodecanol, and 1-decanol. Here, fixing the TOA composition
at 20 vol %, the vol % of modifiers (oleyl alcohol, dodecanol, and
1-decanol) is changed from 20 to 60 vol % in dodecane (diluent) to
find the best combination for the extraction of the acid. The extraction
system comprised of 20 vol % TOA + 40 vol % dodecanol + 20 vol % n-dodecane gives the best separation efficiency (95.06%).
Then, with this solvent system, equilibrium studies are carried out
at different acid concentrations (0.05 and 0.251 mmol·kg–1). Based on the theoretical study, the insights of
the extraction mechanism are determined in terms of equilibrium constants
(overall and individual, K
E, K
11, and K
21) and stoichiometry
(m and n) at 298 K.