Xanthan Gum precipitation using ethanol

Abstract

Quantitative studies on the effect of operating parameters on the recovery of xanthan from aqueous solution using ethanol precipitation demonstrated that the salt type and ethanol concentration are the most important variables. Increasing salt concentrations up to 1% enhance the effect of higher ethanol levels but further increases do not contribute to increased xanthan yields. The temperature of precipitation and the xanthan concentration have minor effects on the recovery. Under optimal conditions, xanthan recoveries of 88-90% were achieved