Extraction of succinic from aqueous mixtures by emulsion liquid membrane process using amberlite la-2 as a carrier

Abstract

Background: Succinic acid is widely used in pharmaceutical, chemical and food industries with numerous applications. Despite the purification technology difficulties, the downstream processes raise important problems concerning the environmental protection. Thus, it is essential to develop an economical separation process which used less chemical consumption, in order to reduce environmental pollution and lowered the cost of purification. In this study, Emulsion liquid Membrane (ELM) process was used for succinic acid extraction using Amberlite LA-2 as a carrier. Na2CO3 was used as a stripping agent, kerosene as a diluent, and Span 80 as a surfactant. The Emulsion Liquid Membrane system was applied to get high selectivity of the succinic acid. Several parameters were investigated in the system such as carrier, stripping agent, surfactant concentration, and homogenizer speed. The concentration of extracted succinic acid and acetic acid was determined using High Performance Liquid Chromatography column Aminex HPX-247. Based on the result, the optimum conditions of succinic acid extraction selectivity are 0.05M Amberlite LA-2 in kerosene, 0.01M Na2CO3, 3% (w/v) of Span 80 and 7000 rpm of homogenizer speed.