Adsorption equilibria of bio-based butanol solutions using zeolite

1-Butanol can be produced by clostridial fermentations with acetone and ethanol as by-products. The butanol can be present up to ∼20 g L−1 depending on process conditions and microbial strain. The high-silica zeolite CBV28014 has been proven to adsorb butanol selective over water, while showing higher affinity for butanol than for acetone and ethanol. Multi-component acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) adsorption on CBV28014 has been modeled using a single site extended Langmuir adsorption model and the ideal adsorbed solution (IAS) theory model. The IAS model describes multi-component adsorption of ABE in synthetic mixtures and ABE in filtered fermentation broth by CBV28014 more accurately than the single site extended Langmuir model.