LIQUID-LIQUID EQUILIBRIA FOR TERNARY-SYSTEMS MALIC OR TARTARIC-ACIDS,WATER AND TRIISOOCTYLAMINE DISSOLVED IN 1-OCTANOL

In wine distilleries, the fabrication of grape sugar through a process using ion exchange resins produces an important volume of wastewater which contains malic and tartaric acids. The recovery of these organic acids from the aqueous effluents is a way of reducing environment pol lution. Over the last decade, solvent extraction process has received increasing attention to remove carboxylic acids in dilute aqueous solu tions. In this work, equilibria of distribution of malic and tartaric acids between aqueous solutions of separate solute and an organic phas e composed of triisooctylamine (TIOA) dissolved in l-octanol was studi ed. An aliphatic tertiary amine was selected as solvent because of its attractive extracting power against carboxylic acids and futhermore i ts quasi-insolubility in water phase. The maximun values of partition coefficients of malic and tartaric acids obtained from diluted solutio n were found equal to 38.0 and 16.7 respectively. The knowledge of ter nary system equilibria always deserves consideration for industrial pu rposes.