Impact on the effect of acetic acid in its aqueous forms on environments and its separations by solvent extraction method- A review

Acetic acid is one of the top twenty commodities used in various industrial processes. Removal of acetic acid in its aqueous forms is a significant problem, and it cannot be discarded directly to the environment because of its acidity nature. The separation of acetic acid from its aqueous phase is challenging because of the formation of azeotrope conditions. Several methods have been studied to recover the acetic acid in its aqueous phase, distillation, solvent extraction, membrane separation, pervaporation, etc. Out of which, solvent extraction is mainly used for feed concentration up to 50%. The efficiency of solvent extraction mostly depends on the solvent which is chosen for the extraction. The current study mainly focused on the review of extraction of acetic acid from aqueous phase using several organic solvents, single and combination of two solvents (dual solvents). The efficiency is studied in terms of distribution coefficient and separation factor. The model available in Aspen plus NRTL, UNIQUAC, UNIFAC was also discussed.