(251h) Process Intensification in Biofuels Manufacturing – Characterization of Liquid-Liquid Extraction Behavior of Biofuel Components

Biofuels including ethanol manufacturing from first- and second- generation feedstocks are an important endeavor in addressing the sustainability goals in the U.S. Despite the advantages of biofuel as a blend with gasoline, there continue to remain opportunities for improving the cost and energy performance, water use and environmental impacts of biofuels manufacturing.

One of the significant contributors to energy consumption during biofuel manufacturing is the process of distillation. Alternative separation technologies including absorption, liquid-liquid extraction, membrane separation and membrane solvent extraction have been explored. Membrane solvent extraction offers significant advantages compared to conventional liquid-liquid extraction including eliminating the formation of emulsions, ability to use solvents that have potential toxicity to microorganisms at higher concentrations, ease of separation by using high boiling solvents. Solvent extraction from fermentation broth or liquid (solvent) - liquid (aqueous broth) extraction of the biofuel components is an integral part of membrane solvent extraction. Understanding the equilibrium extraction characteristics and partition coefficients of biofuel components is an important first step in developing advanced separation technologies such as membrane solvent extraction.

Here we present experimental characterization and analysis of aqueous and organic phases and equilibrium partitioning during liquid-liquid extraction in single and multi-component mixtures and their comparison to literature and theoretical predictions using thermodynamic modeling. The concentration and equilibrium partitioning characteristics will be helpful in the development of advanced separation technologies and improving the cost and energy performance of biofuels manufacturing.