Two nonfoaming bubble separation techniques, air stripping and solvent sublation, are presented and discussed in order to recover butyl acetate (BA) from discharged wastewater after solvent extraction of penicillin. Results show air stripping is not suitable for the recovery of BA from the wastewater. Axial concentration of BA had a noted maximum point along the column. In contrast, solvent sublation is very effective to recover BA from the wastewater. In solvent sublation experiments, axial concentration of BA along the column first increased and then decreased from the bottom to the top because of two primary mass transport processes. One is the transport by adsorption or attachment to ascending bubbles, and the other is by dispersion at water-solvent interface and by water film in organic solvent layer. In order to elucidate the high removal efficiency in solvent sublation, the microstructure of the wastewater was studied with optic microscope, which was showed to be an emulsion of BA in water at large concentration of BA. Solvent sublation can be successfully used in the removal of BA from its emulsion in the wastewater. The surface tension of simulated solution composed of lysozyme and BA was studied to understand mutual effect of biological materials and BA. Results show that lysozyme affects the adsorption of BA at air-water interface and they may form a complex between BA and lysozyme molecules.
