Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) of Furfural Purification from Oil Palm Empty Bunch with Toluene Solvent

Oil Palm Empty Brunches (OPEB) as lignocellulose can be hydrolyzed into various chemical compounds with high selling value, such as furfural. Furfural purification by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) produced higher furfural yield compared to other methods. The solvent must have a high solute capability to achieve the LLE process with the highest furfural yield. Toluene was chosen as a solvent because it shows high solubility in furfural extraction. The purpose of this research is to determine the optimum operating conditions for furfural LLE with toluene from the OPEB hydrolysate model. The variable in this research is stirring time (30, 60, 90 minutes), extraction stage (1x, 2x, 3x), and extraction temperature (25, 45, 65°C). Analysis of furfural content in the organic phase was carried out using HPLC. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) determined the optimum furfural LLE condition in the Design-Expert software using the Box-Behnken model. This research can be used as a reference for obtaining the best furfural yield from OPEB hydrolysate using the LLE method with toluene.

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