Recovery of penicillin by reactive extraction in centrifugal extractors.

Penicillin V and/or G were extracted from fermentation broth by Amberlite LA-2 in n-butylacetate at pH 5 in a laboratory centrifugal extractor, Type SA 01 of Westfalia, up to an overall phase throughput rate of 30 L/h, in a bench-scale four-stage extraction system, consisting of Type TA 1 of Westfalia, up to an overall phase throughput rate of 110 L/h, and in a pilot-plant three-stage extraction unit, consisting of Type TA 7 extractors of Westfalia, up to a phase throughput rate of 990 L/h with very high degrees of extraction (up to 99%). The reextraction from the ion-pair complex, which contained organic solvent, was performed by phosphate, borate, or carbonate buffer at pH 7.5-8.5 in all three extractor systems with degrees of extraction up to 98%, but at considerably lower overall phase throughput rates than those of the extraction, since no satisfactory phase separation is possible at higher throughput rates.