Selective recovery of a pyridine derivative from an aqueous waste stream containing acetic acid and succinonitrile with solvent impregnated resins

Solvent impregnated resins (SIRs) were evaluated for the recovery of pyridine derivatives from an aqueous waste-stream containing also acetic acid and succinonitrile. For this purpose, a new solvent was developed, synthesized and impregnated in Amberlite XAD4. Sorption studies were used to determine the capacity, selectivity and the mass-transfer rate. A high capacity of 21 g 4-cyanopyridine (CP) per kg SIR was found, with very high selectivity toward CP over the other solutes of at least 570. A modified Langmuir equation could describe the equilibrium sorption isotherm. Both the linear driving force model and a Fickian diffusion model were evaluated. The Fick-model described both regeneration and loading best. The CP-diffusivity through the solvent phase was estimated at 6.53 · 10−13 ± 2.5% m2 s−1. The model was validated using fixed-bed column experiments. The R2 values for this model ranged between 0.94 at a flow rate of 5 mL/min and 0.99 at a flow rate of 1 mL/min during the loading cycle. Due to mass-transfer limitations the breakthrough profiles were broad and breakthrough occurred after 5 or 23 bed volumes, for flow rates of 5 and 1 mL/min, respectively. Both acetic acid and succinonitrile broke through immediately due to the very high CP-selectivity of the SIR.