Integrated Vacuum Stripping and Adsorption for the Efficient Recovery of (Biobased) 2-Butanol.

Biobased 2-butanol offers high potential as biofuel, but its toxicity toward microbial hosts calls for efficient techniques to alleviate product inhibition in fermentation processes. Aiming at the selective recovery of 2-butanol, the feasibility of a process combining vacuum stripping followed by vapor adsorption has been assessed using mimicked fermentation media. The experimental vacuum stripping of model solutions and corn stover hydrolysate closely aligned with mass transfer model predictions.