Biocompatible amino acid-based ionic liquids for extracting hormones and antibiotics from swine effluents

• Published in: Separation and purification technology Vol. 250; p. 117068
• Main Authors: Díaz-Quiroz, Carlos, González, Laura, Álvarez, María S., Hernández-Chávez, Juan Francisco, Rodríguez, Ana, Deive, Francisco J., Ulloa-Mercado, Gabriela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Aqueous two-phase systems; Cholinium aminoacids; Hormones; Surfactants; Cholinium aminoacids; Aqueous two-phase systems; Hormones; Antibiotics; Surfactants
• ISSN: 1383-5866; 1873-3794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117068

•N1112OHAla acts as efficient phase promoter in aqueous solutions of Triton X-100.•The hormone 17-β estradiol was mostly partitioned to the surfactant-rich phase.•The antibiotics separation strongly depended on the feed concentration.•The addition of CTAB allowed improving the extraction at levels higher than 90%. The generalized use of antibiotics and hormones in swine feed has triggered a growing concern on their presence in wastewater effluents and manure. Therefore, the implementation of strategies for their removal is a matter of practical significance and the synthesis of biocompatible ionic liquids to be used as segregation agents in aqueous waste effluents could be a suitable means for removing these emerging contaminants. In this work, the salting out capacity of cholinium alaninate, (N1112OHAla) in aqueous streams containing surfactants (Triton X-100) was demonstrated. Afterwards, its ability to separate a hormone (17-β estradiol) and antibiotics belonging to tetracycline and fluoroquinolone families was investigated in an aqueous synthetic swine effluent at environmental conditions. It was checked that the cautious selection of the feed compositions allowed high levels of hormone extraction (E) and partition coefficients (K): E > 90% and K > 13.86, in surfactant rich-phase. Antibiotics migrated to any of the two phases depending on system compositions. However, the decisive addition of a cationic surfactant (2% CTAB) led to increased extraction efficiencies of chlortetracycline (K = 15.77 and E = 92.5%), proving the versatility of the process.