04725ntm a2200337 i 4500 MY-KuUP 20260216163544.0 t||||fr|||| 000 0 ta 260216t20252025my a|||fr|||| 000 0 eng d THE0010338 (Local) Hardback UMPSA eng UMPSA rda FTKKP .A45 2025 r Thesis Nurul Aliaa Binti Abdul Rahman, author. Optimization of ferulic acid recovery from mixed culture fermentation broth using task specific ionic liquids / Nurul Aliaa Binti Abdul Rahman Kuantan Pahang : UMPSA, 2025 © 2025 xvi, 163 pages : illustration ; 30 cm.+ 1 CD-ROM rdacontent text rdamedia unmediated rdacarrier volume rda text file PDF Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al Sultan Abdullah - 2025 Include bibliographical reference Ferulic acid (FA) has garnered significant attention in various industries due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-thrombosis properties. Despite its valuable applications in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical sectors, the efficient recovery of FA from fermentation broth remains challenging. This difficulty arises due to the presence of complex fermentation media, which includes proteins, sugars, and other organic compounds that hinder the selective separation of FA, resulting in low purity and extensive downstream processing. Moreover, conventional solvent extraction methods often involve the use of volatile organic solvents, posing environmental and safety concerns. Therefore, optimizing FA recovery from mixed culture fermentation broth is essential. To address these challenges, greener alternatives such as ionic liquids (ILs) have gained attention due to their tuneable properties, negligible vapor pressure, and enhanced selectivity for bioactive compounds. In particular, ILs function as designer solvents in liquid–liquid extraction systems, where their unique cation–anion combinations facilitate targeted interactions with specific solutes. In the case of FA, ILs enhance extraction efficiency primarily through hydrogen bonding interactions between the IL anions and the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of FA, thereby increasing solubility and selectivity during phase separation. In this study, ILs were employed as alternative solvents in liquid–liquid extraction to improve FA recovery from fermentation broth. However, there is limited research on identifying the most effective ILs for FA recovery from fermentation broth. This study aimed to optimize FA recovery using task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs). The initial step involved screening potential ILs for FA recovery using the Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) software. The findings revealed that FA's hydrogen bond acceptor properties play a crucial role in enhancing recovery efficiency, with smaller alkyl chains and specific anion pairings such as [BF4] and [F] improving FA selectivity, capacity, and performance index. The two ILs with the highest performance index namely morpholinium tetrafluoroborate ([MOR][BF4]) and imidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([IM][HSO4]) were selected for further study, synthesized, and validated through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy analyses. Among them, [IM][HSO₄] exhibited higher antimicrobial activity and enzyme inhibition, whereas [MOR][BF₄] demonstrated lower toxicity, making it a more suitable solvent for biocompatible recovery. Optimization of FA recovery using [MOR][BF4] via Central Composite Design (CCD) achieved a 92.55% FA recovery rate under optimal conditions: a phase ratio of 1:5, recovery time of 45 minutes, inorganic salt concentration of 0.06M, at 45°C and pH 9.5. This optimization resulted in a 2.3% increase in FA recovery efficiency and a 15 minute reduction in recovery time compared to initial screening results. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that [MOR][BF₄] serves as a sustainable, low-toxicity, and highly efficient IL solvent for liquid–liquid extraction of FA from complex fermentation media. The results provide a valuable foundation for scalable FA recovery processes in industrial bioprocessing applications, promoting both environmental and economic benefits. Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology Dissertations Universities and colleges Dissertations Theses Dissertations lcc THESIS 0 0 lcc 0 0 10000 10000 2026-02-16 0 FTKKP .A45 2025 r Thesis T000004088 2026-02-16 16:36:24 2026-02-16 THESIS 0 0 lcc 0 6 10000 10000 2026-02-16 0 CD13956 T000004089 2026-02-16 16:38:09 2026-02-16 THESIS 104193 104199