EXTRACTION OF HIGHER QUATERNARY AMMONIUM-SALTS BY POLAR ORGANIC-SOLVENTS AND THEIR BINARY-MIXTURES WITH WATER

A study was carried out on the extraction of the chloride and iodide forms of higher quaternary ammonium salts (QAS) in systems consisting of octane and a polar organic solvent (methanol, acetonitrile, dimethylformamide, and formamide) and their mixtures with water. The concentrational and thermodynamic QAS extraction constants were calculated as well as the increments of the ionogenic groups of the QAS to the logarithm of the extraction constant. The ionogenic groups of the QAS have the greatest affinity for dimethylformamide and acetonitriie and least for methanol. This result is attributed to the strong effect of the solubility of methanol in octane on the extraction. The addition of from 5 to 20 vol. % water to these solvents leads to greater extraction of some of the higher QAS by the polar phase and increases the efficiency of the elimination of organic nonelectrolyte impurities from these QAS samples.