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Updated: Dec 6, 2025

Author Spotlight: Optimizing Hollow-Fiber Membranes for Continuous Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Medium-Chain Fatty Acids
Published on: August 9, 2024
Highly selective recovery of medium chain carboxylates from co-fermented organic wastes using anion exchange with
Clara Fernando-Foncillas1, Carlos I Cabrera-Rodríguez2, Francisco Caparrós-Salvador3
1Section for Sustainable Biotechnology, Aalborg University Copenhagen, A.C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Abstract:
The aim of this work was to recover a mixture of carboxylates ranging from 2 to 7 carbon atoms using a strong anion exchange resin, followed by desorption with CO2-expanded methanol. Medium chain carboxylates hexanoate and heptanoate adsorbed better than acetate, and the corresponding medium chain carboxylic acids desorbed easier than acetic acid. Consequently, hexanoate and heptanoate were concentrated up to 14.6 and 20.7 times, respectively. These findings will enable effective separation and purification of the produced carboxylic acids. Notably, the presence of inorganic ions in the sample, such as chloride, decreased the adsorption affinity compared to a synthetic mixture only of carboxylates.
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