Selective extraction of succinic acid from binary mixture of succinic acid and acetic acid

Abstract

In production of succinic acid by fermentation, succinic acid and acetic acid are co-produced. To purify the succinic acid from binary-acid mixture of succinic acid and acetic acid, the tertiary amine-based extraction was used. In 1-octanol, the selectivity for succinic acid was proportional to the chain length of tertiary amine. But, the distribution of acids into organic phase was low in n-heptane. These results are due to the different degree of intramolecular hydrogen bonding of succinic acid and hydrophobicity of each acid.