A water-immiscible solvent/co-solvent mixture which extracts acetic acid from aqueous streams comprises
(a) a water-immiscible solvent comprising greater than 50% by volume of a mixture of isomers of highly branched di-alkyl amines and less than about 1% by volume of mono-alkyl amines, said solvent having a coefficient of distribution greater than 10; and
(b) at least 10% by volume of a non-alcoholic co-solvent having a boiling point lower than the boiling point of said solvent (a). Preferred water-immiscible solvent useful in the extraction of acetic acid from aqueous streams comprises about 91% by volume of a mixture of isomers of highly branched di-alkyl amines, about 0.2% by volume of mono-alkyl amines, and about 9% by volume tri-alkyl amines said solvent having a coefficient of distribution of greater than 10. An anaerobic microbial fermentation process for the production of acetic acid comprises the steps of:
(a) fermenting in a bioreactor a gas stream comprising a least one gas selected from (1) carbon monoxide, (2) carbon dioxide and hydrogen, (3) carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen and (4) carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the presence of an aqueous stream comprising an anaerobic acetogenic bacteria in a nutrient medium, thereby producing a fermentation broth comprising acetic acid;
(b) separating said bacteria from other components in said broth to provide a substantially cell-free stream;
(c) continuously extracting acetic acid from said cell-free stream into a solvent phase by contacting said cell-free stream with a water-immiscible solvent/co-solvent mixture of the invention;
(d) recycling said aqueous phase to said bioreactor and passing said solvent phase to a distillation column; and
(e) continuously distilling from the product of (d) the acetic acid separately from the solvent phase under a temperature not exceeding 160°C; said extracting and distilling steps occurring without substantially degrading said amine to an amide, thus enhancing the efficiency of production of acetic acid.
从
水流中萃取
乙酸的
水不溶性溶剂/助溶剂混合物包括
(a) 一种不溶于
水的溶剂,按体积计算,由 50%以上的高支化二烷基胺异构体混 合物和小于约 1%的单烷基胺组成,所述溶剂的分配系数大于 10;以及
(b) 至少 10%(体积)的非
醇类助溶剂,其沸点低于所述溶剂(a)的沸点。用于从
水流中萃取
乙酸的优选不溶于
水的溶剂包括约 91%(体积)的高支链二烷基胺异构体混合物、约 0.2%(体积)的单烷基胺和约 9%(体积)的
三烷基胺,所述溶剂的分布系数大于 10。生产
醋酸的厌氧微
生物发酵工艺包括以下步骤: 1:
(a) 在
生物反应器中发酵包含至少一种选自(1)
一氧化碳、(2)
二氧化碳和氢、(3)
一氧化碳、
二氧化碳和氢以及(4)
一氧化碳和氢的气体的气流,该气流在营养介质中存在包含厌氧产
乙酸菌的
水流, 从而产生包含
乙酸的发酵液;
(b) 将所述细菌与所述发酵液中的其他成分分离,以提供基本上不含细胞的液流;
(c) 通过将所述无细胞流与本发明的
水不溶性溶剂/助溶剂混合物接触,从所述无细胞流中连续提取
乙酸至溶剂相;
(d) 将所述
水相回收至所述
生物反应器,并将所述溶剂相传递至蒸馏塔;以及
(e) 在不超过 160°C 的温度下,从(d)的产物中连续蒸馏出与溶剂相分开的
乙酸;所述提取和蒸馏步骤在进行时不会将所述胺降解为酰胺,从而提高了
乙酸的生产效率。