Abstract: “This work investigates the possibility of selective separation of succinic, formic, and acetic acids from biosynthetic mixture obtained by fermentation with Actinobacillus succinogenes using reactive extraction with tri-n-octylamine (TOA) dissolved in different solvents (dichloromethane, n-butyl acetate and n-heptane). The extraction process was analyzed by means of the extraction degree and the selectivity factor, defined as the ratio between the cumulated extraction degrees of formic and acetic acids and that of succinic acid. It was concluded that the efficiency of the reactive extraction system is influenced by solute acidity, extractant concentration, and solvent polarity. For underlining the effect of solute acidity in the sequence of acid extraction from biosynthetic mixture, the influence of TOA concentration on extraction efficiency was analyzed for each considered solvent. Because succinic acid possesses two stages of ionization, these studies were carried out for two values”

Keywords: reactive extraction, selectivity factor, succinic acid, A. succinogenes, tri-n-octylamine