"Anhydrous volatile fatty acid extraction through omniphobic membranes " by Xueyao Zhang, Jiefu Wang et al.
 

Anhydrous volatile fatty acid extraction through omniphobic membranes by hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents: Mechanistic understanding and future perspective

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-15-2024

Abstract

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) derived from arrested anaerobic digestion (AD) can be recovered as a valuable commodity for value-added synthesis. However, separating VFAs from digestate with complex constituents and a high-water content is an energy-prohibitive process. This study developed an innovative technology to overcome this barrier by integrating deep eutectic solvents (DESs) with an omniphobic membrane into a membrane contactor for efficient extraction of anhydrous VFAs with low energy consumption. A kinetic model was developed to elucidate the mechanistic differences between this novel omniphobic membrane-enabled DES extraction and the previous hydrophobic membrane-enabled NaOH extraction. Experimental results and mechanistic modeling suggested that VFA extraction by the DES is a reversible adsorption process facilitating subsequent VFA separation via anhydrous distillation. High vapor pressure of shorter-chain VFAs and low Nernst distribution coefficients of longer-chain VFAs contributed to DES-driven extraction, which could enable continuous and in-situ recovery and conversion of VFAs from AD streams.

Identifier

85191898968 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Water Research

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.121654

e-ISSN

18792448

ISSN

00431354

PubMed ID

38701552

Volume

257

Grant

2023-79000-38973

Fund Ref

U.S. Department of Energy

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