BACKGROUND Today there is a resurgence of interest in using short-chain hydrophilic alcohols and salts to recover stronger polar bio-based chemicals and fuels for use as platform chemicals and renewable alternative transportation fuels. How to reduce the extractant depletion during the recovery of other bio-based chemicals from the fermentation broths is a problem of concern to researchers. RESULTS The present work investigated a 1-propanol salt aqueous two-phase system and its application to recover bio-based acetoin. The water + 1-propanol + K4P2O7 system was preferred for recovering bio-based acetoin according to the recovery of 1-propanol in the 1-propanol salt aqueous two-phase ternary system and after extraction of acetoin, and the salt content in the organic phase so as to avoid the losses of salt and 1-propanol. CONCLUSION Subsequently, almost 100% of acetoin can be recovered from the aqueous solution; almost all of the salt was retained in the aqueous phase and more than 99% of 1-propanol was recovered. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry