Experimental investigation using conventional and natural extractants for liquid-liquid extraction of glutaric acid

Glutaric acid finds major application in corrosion inhibitors, anti-scaling agents, pharmaceutical synthesis, etc. mainly as a polymer building block. However, production of glutaric acid is quite difficulty, necessitated research into viable options for glutaric acid recovery. The liquid-liquid extraction method has been employed to recover glutaric acid from aqueous phase using a variety of inert extractant (cyclohexane) and natural, non-toxic extractants (rice bran and sesame oil). The extraction efficiency (%E) and distribution coefficient (KD) were calculated based on equilibrium data obtained at 298.15±1 K. The trend observed for the average distribution coefficient along with extraction efficiency respectively are as follows: rice bran oil (0.152, 12.48%) > Cyclohexane (0.075, 6.90%) > Sesame oil (0.037, 3.53%). The rice bran oil has the highest extraction efficiency, whereas sesame oil provided the lowest extraction efficiency.