T-butanol–salt three-phase interaction

Three-phase partitioning is a separation process that can be utilized to purify many different biomolecules, the most common one being proteins, such as enzymes. In this chapter, the basic process description, principles, applications, and advantages of three-phase partitioning will be thoroughly discussed together with future perspectives and challenges. The salts (usually ammonium sulfate) and organic solvent (usually tert-butanol) used in three-phase partitioning will be studied and the push on the left and pull on the right mechanism for three-phase partitioning were discussed. The top phase of the system will be the organic solvent, the middle phase being the precipitated proteins, and the bottom phase will be the salt solution. Applications such as enzyme extraction, multimolecule extraction, oil extraction, and polysaccharide extraction were included as well. The advantages of three-phase partitioning over other separation techniques include time saving, ease of scaling, and reduction of product loss.