title: Feasibility of ionic liquids as extractants for selective separation of vitamin D₃ and tachysterol₃ by solvent extraction.
abstract: A selective separation of vitamin D₃ and tachysterol₃ by solvent extraction with 7 organic solvents and 11 ionic liquids (ILs) has been reported. Among organic solvents sulfolane showed optimal extraction performance, giving only a selectivity of 1.44 for tachysterol₃ over vitamin D₃. ILs with unsaturated bonds demonstrated high selectivity probably due to their different π-π interactions with the two compounds. A pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid, for example, [BMPr][NTf2], provided the highest selectivity up to 1.77. Acceptable selectivity and distribution coefficients were observed by a combination of organic solvents and ILs as extracting agents. In this work, the effects of concentrations, anions, cations, and substituent of ILs were investigated, which may provide a rational strategy for the design of novel ILs for extractive separation of structural analogues. The purification and recovery of vitamin D₃3 via continuous multistage extractions were simulated, indicating that IL-based liquid-liquid extraction might be superior to traditional organic solvents in practical production.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biomass Chemical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ruisi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Zongbi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Baogen
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Huabin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Qiwei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Qilong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D059625:Liquid-Liquid Extraction; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D012997:Solvents; D002762:Cholecalciferol; C025168:previtamin D(3)