Extraction chemistry of fermentation product carboxylic acids

Within the framework of a program aiming to improve the existing extractive recovery technology of fermentation products, the state of the art is critically reviewed. The acids under consideration are propionic, lactic, pyruvic, succinic, fumaric, maleic, malic, itaconic, tartaric, citric, and isocitric, all obtained by the aerobic fermentation of glucose via the glycolytic pathway and glyoxylate bypass. With no exception, it is the undissociated monomeric acid that is extracted into carbon-bonded and phosphorus-bonded oxygen donor extractants. In the organic phase, the acids are usually dimerized. The extractive transfer process obeys the Nernst law, and the measured partition coefficients range from about 0.003 for aliphatic hydrocarbons to about 2 to 3 for aliphatic alcohols and ketones to about 10 or more for organophosphates. Equally high distribution ratios are measured when long-chain tertiary amines are employed as extractants, forming bulky salts preferentially soluble in the organic phase.