Studies in selective extraction and adsorption. III. The adsorption of acetone, butyl alcohol and 2:3‐butylene glycol from dilute solutions

Abstract

Technical fermentations, such as the acetone-butanol fermentation and the 2 : 3-butylene glycol fermentation, yield products in the form of very dilute aqueous solutions. The volatile products may be lsolatcd by adsorption on activc carbon. In the case of 2 : 3-butylene glycol the dcsorption has to be effected by solvent extraction, for which acetone is most suitable. In the case of acetone-butanol, it is not only possible to adsorb the solvent mixture, as produced by fermentation, but also to isolatc the two components separately by selective adsorption. The adsorbent bed can be re-used, without decrease in its adsorptive capacity. ('I separation stage 'I). The adsorbed organic material and water was then desorbed by treatment with dry air. A series of such consecutive experiments is illustrated by Table VI.

Applied in situ product recovery in ABE fermentation

“…The immobilized fermentation eventually ceased due to a build-up of acetone to 18 g/L in the fermentation broth, inhibiting the bacteria. 103 Weizmann et al, 100 in agreement with Yang et al 112 and Lin et al 109 observed that the adsorption is competitive. Butanol is adsorbed in preference to acetone, for example.…”

“…It is the oldest technique investigated for the use of ISPR from ABE fermentations. In 1948, Weizmann et al . first investigated butanol adsorption to relieve product inhibition and reduce the energy demand due to distillation.…”

“…A wide range of adsorbents have been used in conjunction with the butanol and the ABE fermentation, and this list is continually evolving as new, more complex adsorbents become available. Some of the adsorbents used are activated carbon, silicalite or silicalite‐based zeolites, and polymeric resins . The initial conclusion from Qureshi et al .…”

Comparing column dynamics in the liquid and vapor phase adsorption of biobutanol on an activated carbon monolith

“…The adsorptive recovery of biobutanol can be performed directly from the liquid fermentation broth (Abdehagh et al 2017;Cousin-Saint-Remi et al 2012;Faisal et al 2016;Faisal et al 2014;Gao et al 2017;Gao et al 2016;Groot and Luyben 1986;Jiao et al 2015;Lee et al 2016;Lin et al 2013;Lin et al 2012;Liu 2015;Maddox 1982;Nielsen and Prather 2009;Nielsen et al 1988;Oudshoorn et al 2009;Raganati et al 2018;Saravanan et al 2010;Staggs and Nielsen 2015;Wu et al 2015;Xue et al 2016;Yang et al 1994) or from gasses produced during gas or vacuum stripping of the fermentation broth (Abdehagh et al 2017;Bhattacharyya et al 2017;Cao et al 2015;Van der Perre et al 2017). Of the different adsorbents screened in literature for biobutanol recovery hydrophobic materials such as MFI zeolites (Abdehagh et al 2014;Cousin-Saint-Remi et al 2012;Maddox 1982;Milestone and Bibby 1983;Milestone and Bibby 1981), ZIF-8 (Cousin-Saint-Remi et al 2012;Cousin-Saint-Remi et al 2011;Gao et al 2017) and activated carbon materials (Abdehagh et al 2013;Cousin-Saint-Remi et al 2012;Groot and Luyben 1986;Levario et al 2012;Staggs et al 2017;Weizmann et al 1948;…”

Butanol recovery using ionic liquids as green solvents

“…The acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation process was used to produce acetone during World War I and this acetone was used for the synthesis of cordite 1 . Weizmann was a pioneer in the development of the ABE anaerobic fermentation process.…”