Optimizing Downstream Purification of Biochemicals with Liquid-Liquid Extraction Technology

Recently, there has been a significant emphasis on producing organic chemicals from biomass generated via processes such as fermentation. Most of these processes produce low concentrations of organic chemicals that are higher boiling than water. As such, distillation is not a viable first step for recovery and purification.
Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is an ideal unit operation for removing many of these compounds either directly from the broth itself (whole broth) or from the broth after some pre-treatment step to separate the less desirable components such as cell mass, lignin, etc.
The selection of the column type is critical for optimizing the performance and cost of extraction processes. Many biomass feed solutions, especially those produced by fermentation processes or algae ponds, tend to emulsify easily upon contact and mixing with an organic solvent. Years of experimentation have proven that the reciprocating agitation found in a KARR® extraction column is superior to columns with rotating internals or non-agitated columns for systems with a tendency to emulsify.