Acetic acid and methanol recovery from dimethyl terephthalate process wastewater using pressure membrane and membrane distillation processes

Thanks to its unique features, membrane distillation (MD) has been particularly applied for desalination but also for niches applications with feed solutions containing a mixture of volatile molecules. For such solutions, the complex interplay of the solutes and solvent physicochemical and operating parameters makes it challenging to predict the separation efficiency by MD. There is thus a need for a better understanding of the behavior of volatile compounds in MD as well as the influence of their physicochemical environment. This study aimed at investigating the influence of different operating parameters on rejection efficiency of air-gap MD towards carboxylic acids (formic, acetic and succinic acids). Acid rejection was found to be highly dependent on the carboxylic acid structure. In addition, it increased with the acid concentration, which could be related to the formation of acid dimers in the feed solution. This behavior is opposite to what is classically observed for pressure-driven membrane processes thus suggesting that MD can be a suitable alternative to these techniques for the concentration/separation of carboxylic acids. On the other hand, acid rejection decreased with the increase of feed temperature which could be explained by the calculation of the apparent energies of activation of both the water and carboxylic acids using an Arrhenius-type model. Finally, the acid dissociation rate played a key role in the acid rejection. Taking advantage of this observation, it was demonstrated how a simple pH adjustment can be used to successfully achieve the selective separation of ethanol (compared to acetic acid) from an acetic acid/ethanol aqueous mixture (typical case of the extraction of bioethanol from a fermentation broth).

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Behavior of Volatile Compounds in Membrane Distillation: The Case of Carboxylic Acids

10.26434/chemrxiv.12176865.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Abdelaziz Khiter ◽

Béatrice Balannec ◽

Anthony Szymczyk ◽

Omar Arous ◽

Noureddine Nasrallah ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acetic Acid ◽

Volatile Compounds ◽

Carboxylic Acids ◽

Separation Efficiency ◽

Fermentation Broth ◽

Membrane Distillation ◽

Acid Dissociation ◽

Type Model ◽

Operating Parameters ◽

Suitable Alternative

Thanks to its unique features, membrane distillation (MD) has been particularly applied for desalination but also for niches applications with feed solutions containing a mixture of volatile molecules. For such solutions, the complex interplay of the solutes and solvent physicochemical and operating parameters makes it challenging to predict the separation efficiency by MD. There is thus a need for a better understanding of the behavior of volatile compounds in MD as well as the influence of their physicochemical environment. This study aimed at investigating the influence of different operating parameters on rejection efficiency of air-gap MD towards carboxylic acids (formic, acetic and succinic acids). Acid rejection was found to be highly dependent on the carboxylic acid structure. In addition, it increased with the acid concentration, which could be related to the formation of acid dimers in the feed solution. This behavior is opposite to what is classically observed for pressure-driven membrane processes thus suggesting that MD can be a suitable alternative to these techniques for the concentration/separation of carboxylic acids. On the other hand, acid rejection decreased with the increase of feed temperature which could be explained by the calculation of the apparent energies of activation of both the water and carboxylic acids using an Arrhenius-type model. Finally, the acid dissociation rate played a key role in the acid rejection. Taking advantage of this observation, it was demonstrated how a simple pH adjustment can be used to successfully achieve the selective separation of ethanol (compared to acetic acid) from an acetic acid/ethanol aqueous mixture (typical case of the extraction of bioethanol from a fermentation broth).

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Ectodesmata as Revealed By Freeze-Etch Preparations of Plant Epidermal Cell Walls

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100072782 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 468-469

Author(s):

N.C. Lyon ◽

W. C. Mueller

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Acetic Acid ◽

Nitric Acid ◽

Oxalic Acid ◽

Light Microscopy ◽

Epidermal Cell ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Plant Viruses ◽

Plant Leaves ◽

Thin Sections

Schumacher and Halbsguth first demonstrated ectodesmata as pores or channels in the epidermal cell walls in haustoria of Cuscuta odorata L. by light microscopy in tissues fixed in a sublimate fixative (30% ethyl alcohol, 30 ml:glacial acetic acid, 10 ml: 65% nitric acid, 1 ml: 40% formaldehyde, 5 ml: oxalic acid, 2 g: mecuric chloride to saturation 2-3 g). Other workers have published electron micrographs of structures transversing the outer epidermal cell in thin sections of plant leaves that have been interpreted as ectodesmata. Such structures are evident following treatment with Hg++ or Ag+ salts and are only rarely observed by electron microscopy. If ectodesmata exist without such treatment, and are not artefacts, they would afford natural pathways of entry for applied foliar solutions and plant viruses.

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