earticle

영어

Recovery of alcohols from the fermentation broth is the most energy extensive step in biofuel production. Solvent extractive separation has been recognized as an economical separation processes since it does not require high energy consumption for the operation. In this study, we investigated the use of butylbutyrate and ionic liquids for the extraction of butanol from the aqueous phase. The ionic liquids used in this study were 1-butyl-3-methylimidazilium
hexafluorophosphate, [BMIM][PF6] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazilium bis(trifluoromrthylsulfonyl)imide, [BMIM][TFSI]. Those ionic liquids at the room temperature exhibit extremely low vapor pressure and low solubility in water, making them attractive for the extraction of organic compounds from the aqueous phase. The extraction efficiencies of [BMIM][PF6] and [BMIM][TFSI] were 50% and 61%, respectively, with butanol solution (10 g/L butanol) to ionic liquid ratio of 1:1. The extraction efficiency increased with the ratio of ionic liquids. The extraction efficiency of butylbutyrate was 71%, which was higher than those with ionic liquids used in this study. In addition to [BMIM][PF6] and [BMIM][TFSI], other ionic liquids with different cation and anion will be also investigated.