Materials
Trioctylamine (TOA), a C 8 straight-chain tertiary
amine, was obtained from Spectrum Chemical Company
and was used as an extractant. 2-ethyl hexanol
and 1-octanol were used as active diluents and were
obtained from Hi-Media India Ltd. Hexane, xylene
and toluene were used as inert diluents and were
obtained from Ranbaxy India Ltd. Aqueous solutions
of lactic acid was obtained from S. D. Fine Chem.
Ltd., India. All these chemicals were technical grade
and were used without any further purification