Approaches for regeneration of amine-carboxylic acid extracts

Extraction processes based on reversible chemical complexation can be useful for separation of polar organics from dilute solution. Tertiary amines are effective extractants for the recovery of carboxylic acids from aqueous solution. The regeneration of aminecarboxylic acid extracts is an important step which strongly influences the economic viability of the separation process. Several regeneration methods are critically reviewed, and the factors that affect swing regeneration processes, including temperature-swing, diluent composition-swing and pH-swing with a volatile base are discussed. Interest in this area comes from interest in treatment of waste streams, particularly in petrochemical and fermentation manufacture