Abstract—The equilibrium reactive extraction of glycolic acid (GA) from aqueous solution is studied using tri-n-octylamine (TOA) as extractant dissolved in organic solvents (cyclohexane and 1-decanol). Experimental studies are designed using central composite orthogonal design method to investigate the main and interaction effects of initial GA concentration in the aqueous phase (Cin, mol/L), initial TOA composition in the organic phase (CTOA,o, %v/v) and modifier composition (M, %v/v) on the degree of extraction (Y). The process design parameters are optimized based on Y and using bio-inspired optimization algorithm, called differential evolution (DE). A quadratic response surface model is satisfactorily described with R2 of 0.98. The optimum conditions using DE are obtained as Cin = 0.24 mol/L, CTOA,o = 16.1 (%v/v), and M = 80.38 (%v/v). At this optimum conditions, a Y of 73.18% can be obtained from the model. Experimental verification gives a Y of 69.25% with a model error of 5.7%. This indicates high reliability of the model.
Index Terms—Reactive extraction, glycolic acid, modeling, optimization
The authors are with the Chemical Engineering Department, Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS) PILANI, Pilani, Rajasthan 333031, INDIA (e-mail: dipaloy@gmail.com; sushilk2006@gmail.com).
[PDF]
Cite: Dipaloy Datta and Sushil Kumar, "Modeling and Optimization of Recovery Process of Glycolic Acid using Reactive Extraction," International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 141-146, 2012.
