Relative basicity approach for separation of α-toluic acid with triglycerides of fatty acids by reactive extraction

Extraction of α-toluic acid from aqueous solution has drawn attention due to its ample range of biological, antibacterial, analgesic, and virucidal properties. In the present paper, reactive separation of α-toluic acid with tri-n-butyl phosphate dissolved in triglycerides of fatty acids such as castor oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil has been investigated to evaluate the performance of the diluents and extractants in reactive extraction process. The experimental results were presented as overall distribution coefficient (KD), loading factor (ϕ), extraction efficiency (E%), and overall equilibrium constant (Eαβ) and observed in the range of data 4.4–45.7, 0.006–0.066, 81.6–97.9, and 15.1–28.1, respectively. Further relative basicity approach has been extended to represent the experimental results. The model is best suited to experimental results. The use of triglycerides of fatty acids (natural diluents) such as castor oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil can reduce the toxicity up to certain levels. Hence, all three diluents can be used to avoid the toxicity effect.