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Abstract
The goal of the present work was to compare cloud point extraction and extraction using ionic liquid for the separation of furfural from a dilute aqueous solution. Aqueous solutions of the biodegradable non-ionic surfactant Dehydol LT 7 (equivalent to C15E7) and the pure ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C4C1im]PF6) were investigated as extraction solvents. Phase diagrams of binary (water/surfactant) and pseudo-binary (water/surfactant/solute) systems were plotted. The extraction results were expressed by the following responses: percentage of solute extracted, E (%), residual concentrations of solute and surfactant in aqueous phase (Xs,w and Xt,w, respectively), and volume fraction of coacervate at equilibrium (ϕC). For each parameter, the experimental results were fitted to empirical equations in three dimensions. The aim of this study was to find the best compromise between E and the other parameters (Xs,w, Xt,w, and ϕC, as low as possible). The comparison between experimental and calculated values allowed model validation. The highest extraction efficiency (98%) was reached with IL. Under optimal conditions, the solute concentration in the effluent was reduced to about 3 times using non-ionic surfactant against 31 times using ionic liquid. Finally, the possibility of recycling the ionic liquid has been proved.