
College of Engineering Unit:
Butyric acid is commonly used in the food and beverage industry to enhance flavor. There are a few ways to extract butyric acid including chemical synthesis, extraction from butter, and biosynthesis. Unfortunately, chemical synthesis is not suitable for the food and beverage industry and extraction from butter can be extremely costly. In efforts to produce butyric acid safely, biosynthesis is further evaluated. Specifically, this project involved the development of a plant site for the biosynthesis (fermentation) of butyric acid. To start, four simultaneous enzymatic hydrolysis semisolid batch reactors were used for the fermentation process. Ground rape straw was used to feed Clostridium butyricum bacteria, which produces butyric acid, acetic acid, and trace phenol. Filtration removes sediments formed during fermentation before the processed fluid is stored in a large cone roof storage tank. After storage, the fluid flows through a liquid-liquid extractor to extract butyric acid from the feed water with the use of octyl acetate as the solvent. The extraction product then goes through a series of distillation towers to separate out the extraction solvent, remaining water, and acetic acid from the desired butyric acid product.