Many of the solvents currently used for extractions in industrial applications are hazardous to humans and environmentally toxic. These solvents also show little promise of recyclability, requiring large energy investments in order to be recovered. Carboxylic acid based switchable hydrophilicity solvents (CAB-SHS) provide a solution to this issue. These solvents can switch hydrophilicity upon the addition of an external trigger, allowing for potential product recovery and solvent recycling. Furthermore, these carboxylic acids avoid the inherent toxicity and corrosive nature of more common amine-based switchable solvents. In this work, CAB-SHS are evaluated for their efficacy at extracting betulin from birch tree bark and the selectivity of the betulin product recovery. Parameters such as the type of CAB-SHS used, as well as the ratios of base:acid and water:acid needed for the switching mechanism were compared in order to determine which set of conditions resulted in the highest product yield. Additionally, different types of washing methods were examined to determine the optimal conditions to achieve a high purity betulin product.
