Downstream extraction process development for recovery of organic acids from a fermentation broth

• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.08.039
• Publication Date: 2016-08-12T13:41:40Z
• Authors: Argyro Bekatorou; Agapi Dima; Panagiotia Tsafra...; Konstantina Boura; Katerina Lappa; Panagiotis Kandylis; Katerina Pissaridi; Maria Kanellaki; Athanasios A. Kou...
• Keywords: Downstream processing

The present study focused on organic acids (OAs) recovery from an acidogenic fermentation broth, which is the main problem regarding the use of OAs for production of ester-based new generation biofuels or other applications. Specifically, 10 solvents were evaluated for OAs recovery from aqueous media and fermentation broths. The effects of pH, solvent/OAs solution ratios and application of successive extractions were studied. The 1:1 solvent/OAs ratio showed the best recovery rates in most cases. Butyric and isobutyric acids showed the highest recovery rates (80-90%), while lactic, succinic, and acetic acids were poorly recovered (up to 45%). The OAs recovery was significantly improved by successive 10-min extractions. Alcohols presented the best extraction performance. The process using repeated extractions with 3-methyl-1-butanol led to the highest OAs recovery. However, 1-butanol can be considered as the most cost-effective option taking into account its price and availability.