Reactive Extraction of Acetic Acid from Aqueous Sodium Acetate Waste

The recovery of acetic acid from aqueous sodium acetate using traditional methods is costly and energy-intensive. The current study focuses on exploring a synergetic reactive extraction methodology to extract acetic acid from aqueous sodium acetate waste. Physical extraction experiments demonstrated that methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK) and xylene are effective diluents among MIBK, xylene, octanol, and toluene. The extraction efficiency was further enhanced by adding Aliquat 336 as an extractant and MIBK and xylene diluents in independent runs. Parameters such as the initial acid concentration in the aqueous phase, Aliquat 336 concentration in the organic phase, and temperature of the reaction mixture were investigated to optimize the operating conditions. Under all conditions, MIBK yielded better results than the other solvents. For a high acid concentration in the aqueous phase (0.5 moL.L-1), a 60% extraction efficiency was observed in the physical extraction experiment. The addition of Aliquat 336 as an extractant (0.729 moL.L-1) to the mixture under identical experimental conditions resulted in a 73% extraction efficiency. Average extraction improved by 10% for 0.2-0.5 moL.L-1 of initial acid concentration using reactive extraction technology. Such a recovery from aqueous sodium acetate using reactive extraction has rarely been reported, and hence, it is presented in this paper.