Esters production via carboxylates from anaerobic paper mill wastewater treatment

Carlos I. Cabrera-Rodríguez, Mónica Moreno-González, F.A. de Weerd, V. Viswanathan, Luuk A.M. van der Wielen, Adrie J.J. Straathof*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper describes a new option for integrated recovery and esterification of carboxylates produced by anaerobic digestion at a pH above the pKa. The carboxylates (acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate and lactate) are recovered using a strong anion exchange resin in the bicarbonate form, and the resin is regenerated using a CO2-expanded alcohol technique, which allows for low chemicals consumption and direct esterification. Paper mill wastewater was used to study the effect of pH and the presence of other inorganic anions and cations on the adsorption and desorption with CO2-expanded methanol. Calcium, which is present in paper mill wastewater, can cause precipitation problems, especially at high pH. Esters yields ranged from 1.08 ± 0.04 mol methyl acetate/mol of acetatein to 0.57 ± 0.02 mol methyl valerate/mol of valeratein.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)186-192
JournalBioresource Technology
Volume237
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Keywords

  • Anaerobic wastewater treatment
  • CO-expanded methanol
  • Methyl carboxylates
  • Paper mill
  • Volatile fatty acids

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