Separation of Succinic Acid from Aqueous Solution by Macroporous Resin Adsorption

Attempts were made to recover succinic acid from aqueous solution by macroporous resin adsorption. The adsorption properties of succinic acid on seven different resins (HPD-300, HPD-400, HPD-450, HPD-500, HPD-826, AB-8, and NKA-9) were compared systematically. According to the adsorption capacity, NKA-9 was chosen as the most suitable resin for succinic acid purification. The influences of solution pH, initial succinic acid concentration, and temperature were studied by the static adsorption method. The maximum adsorption capacity for succinic acid on NKA-9 was 155.9 mg·g–1 and obtained at pH 2.0, initial concentration 50 mg·mL–1 and 10 °C. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were used to describe the interactions between solutes and resins, and the equilibrium experimental data were well fitted to the two isotherms. The kinetic data were modeled using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion equations. The experimental data were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.