Extraction of Priority Pollutant 4-Nitrophenol from Water by Emulsion Liquid Membrane: Emulsion Stability,Effect of Operational Conditions and Membrane Reuse

This work aims to the extraction of the priority pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) from water by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM). Liquid membrane consists of a diluent (hexane) and a surfactant (Span 80). Sodium carbonate solution was used as internal aqueous phase. Effects of important experimental conditions governing the stability of the W/O emulsion were investigated. Influence of operating parameters that affects the permeation of 4-NP such as surfactant concentration, emulsification time, sulfuric acid concentration in external phase, acid type in external phase, internal phase concentration, type of internal phase, stirring speed, volume ratio of internal phase to membrane phase, treatment ratio, 4-NP initial concentration, and diluent type was examined. This study also evaluated the effect of Na₂CO₃ concentration in the internal aqueous phase on the stripping of 4-NP. Additionally, the reuse of the recovered membrane was studied. Under most favorable conditions, practically all the 4-NP and aniline (AN) molecules present in the feed phase were extracted. The recovery of the membrane phase was total and the extraction of 4-NP was not decreased. The ELM treatment process represents a very interesting advanced separation process for the removal of 4-NP and AN from aqueous solutions.     

Synchronized extraction and purification of L-lactic acid from fermentation broth by emulsion liquid membrane technique

This study aims to investigate the recovery of L-lactic acid from fermentation broth by an emulsion liquid membrane (ELM), made up of sunflower oil as the diluent, Sorbitan monooleate (Span 80) as the surfactant, Aliquat 336 as the carrier, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution as the internal aqueous phase. Particularly, the ELM process was properly set up, through the identification of the optimal ELM operating parameters on the final extraction efficiency of L-lactic acid, including Span 80 concentration, NaOH concentration, Aliquat 336 concentration, stirring speed, phase ratio, and treatment ratio. The obtained results showed that the extraction efficiency of L-lactic acid reached up to 99% under the following optimal conditions: 10 minutes after contact time, 4% w/w Span 80, 3% w/w Aliquat 336, 0.1?N solution of NaOH, stirring speed of 300?rpm, phase ratio 1, and treatment ratio 0.25. A stable system without considerable emulsion swelling and breakage was monitored using a dynamic light scattering (DLS) apparatus for the selected optimal ELM operating parameters.     

Emulsion liquid membrane extraction of zinc by a hollow-fiber contactor

Emulsion liquid membranes (ELMs) can contribute to process intensification of zinc extraction, by significantly reducing the solvent and carrier requirements in comparison with conventional solvent extraction. Di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) was used as a highly selective carrier for the transport of zinc ions through the emulsified liquid membrane. The hollow-fiber extractor appears to offer significant advantages over conventional liquid–liquid contactors for this separation because emulsion leakage and swell are practically eliminated even when treating high concentration feeds. Various hydrodynamic and chemical parameters, such as variation in feed pH; zinc concentration in feed; variation in concentrations of D2EHPA; variation in feed/emulsion volume ratios and variation in feed and emulsion flow rates, were investigated. The content of sulfuric acid as an internal did not show in the studied range any significant influence on zinc extraction through the ELM, although a minimum hydrogen ion concentration is suggested in the internal aqueous solution to ensure acidity gradient between both aqueous phases to promote the permeation of zinc ions toward the internal phase. The experimental mass-transfer coefficients have shown a stronger dependence on hydrodynamic conditions in both the external feed phase and emulsion among the parameters studied. For emulsion flow rate, mass-transfer coefficient increased from 16.3 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 200 ml/min to 31.2 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 640 ml/min. Significant increasing in mass-transfer coefficient observed with increasing aqueous flow rate from 9.7 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 170 ml/min to 37.2 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 740 ml/min. The overall mass-transfer coefficient increases from 12 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 2% D2EHPA to 28 × 10⁻⁶ m/s at 8% D2EHPA. This means that this process is chemically controlled and the interfacial resistance has a more significant role in the extraction of zinc by emulsion liquid membrane through hollow-fiber contactor. From the results obtained, it seems that the diffusion processes in aqueous feed phase and the membrane phase have the same importance as the chemical process.     

Studies on emulsion liquid membrane extraction of cephalexin

An experimental study on batch extraction of cephalexin using an emulsion liquid membrane system has been reported. The effects of surfactant, carrier and solute concentrations, phase volume ratio, stirring speed, and counterion concentration on the extraction rate were examined. Surfactant, carrier and diluent used were Span-80, Aliquat-336 and n-heptane–kerosene (1:1), respectively. Under the optimised experimental conditions, emulsion swelling was found to be marginal. By maintaining an appropriate pH gradient in the feed and receiving aqueous phase, facilitated transport could be realised. Selective separation of cephalexin from a mixture of 7-aminodeacetoxy cephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) could be demonstrated in the emulsion liquid membrane system. A mathematical model based on mass transfer across aqueous boundary layer, interfacial chemical reaction and diffusion in the emulsion globule provides a reasonable fit of the experimental solute concentration versus time profiles in the emulsion liquid membrane system.     

Extraction of Cr (VI) by pickering emulsion liquid membrane using amphiphilic silica nanowires (ASNWs) as a surfactant

Pickering emulsion is the replacement of surfactants with solid, often nano-sized particles. The particle-stabilized emulsions have good thermodynamic and kinetic stability. Pickering emulsion liquid membrane (PELM) was prepared using mahua oil as a diluent, aliquat 336 (Trioctyl methylammonium chloride) as a carrier and amphiphilic silica nanowires (ASNWs) (10–40?ml ethanol addition) as a surfactant. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used as stripping phase in the concentration range from 0.1 to 0.5?M for the extraction of hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] from aqueous solution. The variety of edible and non-edible oils was investigated for the stability of water in oil emulsion. Factors that influence silica-stabilized Pickering emulsions are pH, agitation speed, stripping phase concentration, the volume ratio of membrane to stripping phase (M/S), initial feed concentration, treat ratio(feed to emulsion volume ratio) and surfactant concentration for better PELM stability. And also, the extraction efficiency of Cr (VI) was investigated using aliquat as a carrier. The physicochemical properties of ASNWs were studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transforms Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) techniques. At an optimum condition, 99.69% of Cr (VI) removal from aqueous solution was obtained.     

Facilitated transport through liquid surfactant membrane: Analysis of breakage model

A mathematical model for analyzing the experimental data of extraction of weak acid from aqueous solution by liquid surfactant membrane (LSM) using a strong base as internal reagent present in excess in a batch system has been presented. The leakage of internal phase due to membrane breakage is also discussed in the mathematical treatment. The model while considering a reaction front to exist within the emulsion globule assumes reaction equilibrium between the solute and internal reagent in the external continuous phase. The proposed model predicts successfully the experimental results of extraction of a weak acid by a strong base in a batch separation system as presented in the literature. The model is also capable of predicting excellently the experimental pH versus time data in case of the above system.     

Extraction of Arsenic(V) from Water Using Emulsion Liquid Membrane

In this article, the extraction of arsenic(V) from water by means of emulsion liquid membrane is investigated. The influence of operating factors such as stirring speed, concentration of sulfuric acid in the external aqueous phase, concentration of sodium sulfate in internal stripping phase, and concentration of carrier in the membrane phase on the extraction efficiency are investigated and their optimum values, which provide the maximum recovery of arsenic, are determined. Taguchi experimental design is used in order to reduce the number of experiments. The optimum amounts for the extraction of arsenic from water, based on the results, are: stirring speed, 500 rpm; concentration of sulfuric acid in the feed, 1.5 g mol/lit; concentration of reagent in internal phase, 1.5 g mol/lit; and concentration of carrier in 3 ml kerosene which is added to the membrane phase, 0.1 g mol/lit.     

Emulsion liquid membranes: Role of internal droplet size distribution on toluene/n-heptane separation

Using oil/water/oil-type emulsion liquid membranes, batch wise extraction experiments are carried out to separate toluene from a mixture of toluene and n-heptane. In the separation process using emulsion liquid membranes, the internal phase polydispersity affects mass transport of a solute because under steady operating conditions, internal droplet size and size distribution are proportional to the interfacial area. The present study aims to assess the polydispersity character of the internal droplets of emulsion globules. In this paper, the important variables affecting dispersed drop sizes as well as internal droplets mean diameter and size distribution of the emulsion globule, including impeller speed during emulsification, surfactant concentration, volume ratio of surfactant solution, carrier concentration and composition of feed phase are systematically investigated.     

A diffusion model for reversible comsumption in emulsion liquid membranes

This work extends previous diffusion models for emulsion globules in which a solute reacts with an internal reagent. This model allows for reversible consumption of the solute by the internal reagent. Local concentration of the internal reagent is nonzero and satisfies reaction and phase equilibria within the reacted zone. Predicted solute absorption rates are lower for the reversible consumption model than for irreversible models.     

The Role of Internal Droplet Size on Emulsion Stability and the Extraction Performance of Kraft Lignin Removal from Pulping Wastewater in Emulsion Liquid Membrane Process

It has been discovered that the size of internal droplets in primary emulsion determines emulsion dispersion and stability in emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process for removal of lignin from pulping wastewater. Generally, primary emulsion contains kerosene, Aliquat 336, sodium bicarbonate, as well as Span 80 as diluent, carrier, internal phase, and surfactant, respectively. Hence, this study had looked into the parameters, including concentration of surfactant, carrier, and stripping agent; emulsification speed and time; as well as agitation speed and time. As a result, the diameter of the smallest droplets (1.4 µm) was formed with maximum lignin extraction (95%), minimum swelling (5%) at 3% (w/v) surfactant concentration, 12,000 rpm of emulsification within 5 minutes, 0.01 M of Aliquat 336, 0.1 M of NaHCO_3, and 250 rpm of extraction within 10 minutes.     

Mathematical modeling of silver extraction by an emulsion liquid membrane process

A general physical model of a typical batch extraction system employing an emulsion liquid membrane process for the extraction of silver has been developed. The model takes into account the extraction reaction between the silver ion and the carrier molecules at the external interface, the diffusion of the complex in the membrane phase, the stripping reaction at the internal interface and the reaction of silver ion with the reagent, HCL, in the internal phase to yield silver chloride incapable of permeating through the membrane phase. In addition, the leakage of the internal aqueous phase to the external aqueous phase due to membrane breakage has been incorporated in this model. The batch extraction of silver using D2EHPA as a carrier has been carried out under various experimental conditions. The experimental data can be well explained by the present model.     

Swelling determination of W/O/W emulsion liquid membranes

Based on the definition of swelling in emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process, the concepts of apparent swelling and actual swelling are proposed to illustrate the relationship between the emulsion swelling (the osmotic swelling and entrainment swelling) and the membrane breakage, focussing on the effect of the volume change caused by emulsion swelling and membrane breakage on the experimental results. Theoretical analyses indicate that “zero” or “negative” swelling may occur under certain experimental conditions. A bi-tracer method is further proposed and then used to measure the osmotic, entrainment swelling and the membrane breakage simultaneously, only requiring some initial operation conditions and measurements of concentrations of both tracers in the external and internal phases. It has been experimentally proved that this new method is highly applicable in ELM process and provides a useful tool to specify the effects of membrane breakage, osmotic swelling and entrainment swelling in the same experiment. “Negative” swelling may occur under certain operating conditions, particularly when the electrolyte concentration in the external phase is higher than that in the internal phase. The experimental results also indicate that the effect of membrane breakage on the measurement of emulsion swelling should not be neglected to avoid measurement error. Polymeric surfactant LMA is superior to other commercial surfactants as it imparts high membrane stability and small emulsion swelling.     

Inclusion extraction of alkali metals by emulsion liquid membranes bearing nano-baskets

Nano-assisted inclusion separation of alkali metals from basic solutions was reported by inclusion-facilitated emulsion liquid membrane process. The novelty and significance of this study is application of nano-baskets of calixarene in the selective and efficient separation of alkali metals, as both carrier and surfactant. For this aim, four derivatives of p-tert-calix[4]arene bearing different sulfonamide moieties were synthesized and their inclusion-extraction parameters were optimized. Maximum extraction was achieved using calixarene scaffold 03 (3.45 × 10^?2 M) as carrier/demulsifier, commercial kerosene as diluent in membrane, sulphonic acid (0.2 M) and ammonium carbonate (0.4 M) as the strip and the feed phases, the phase and the treat ratios of 0.8 and 0.3, mixing speed (300 rpm), and initial solute concentration (100 mg/L). The selectivity of membrane over more than ten interfering cations was examined and the results reveled that under the optimized operating conditions, the extraction percent of alkali metals was 98–99 %.     

Removal of Mercury by Emulsion Liquid Membranes: Studies on Emulsion Stability and Scale Up

Emulsion liquid membranes (ELM) have received significant attention in the separation of various metal ions from industrial wastewater. Still efforts are needed to get the desired level of stability to overcome the hindrance in the application of ELM at industrial scale. In this paper, the effects of various parameters such as emulsification speed, concentration of cosurfactant, surfactant, carrier and impeller speed during extraction on the stability of an emulsion liquid membrane are studied. Dispersion destabilization of w/o emulsion is checked by Turbiscan. Drop size distribution and photomicrographs of the emulsions are also analyzed to evaluate stability of the emulsion. Instability of emulsion liquid membrane during extraction process is measured in terms of membrane breakage. A stable emulsion is used for the extraction of mercury from aqueous solution in small scale as well as in large scale.     

Performance Evaluation of Nickel Separation and Extraction Process from Simulated Spent Cr/Ni Electroplating Bath Solutions by ELM Process Using LIX63 and PC88A

The study was conducted to investigate synergistic extraction of nickel from simulated spent Cr–Ni electroplating bath solutions by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process using 5,8-diethyl-7-hydroxydodecan-6-one oxime (LIX 63) and 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (PC88A) as carriers. The importance of ELM composition and the properties of simulated spent electroplating bath solution have been optimized to synergistically extract nickel. The important parameters affecting the nickel extraction efficiency and ELM stability, such as acid concentration, stripping solution type and concentration, extractant concentration, surfactant concentration, and phase ratio, were experimentally studied. Along with obtained results, higher than 99% of nickel was selectively extracted within 30 minutes from simulated electroplating bath solutions that their metal concentrations was in the range of 100–500 mg/L. in the optimum conditions. The higher separation factor value of nickel over chromium (β_Ni/Cr) was obtained as 898. As a result, the nickel extraction kinetic was found to depend on PC88A, since extraction mechanism of PC88A is slower than that of LIX63. So, the combined use of LIX63 and PC88A improved the selective extraction of nickel in that process.     

Studies on extraction of chromium (VI) from acidic solutions containing various metal ions by emulsion liquid membrane using Alamine 336 as extractant

The extraction of chromium (VI) ions from acidic solutions containing various metal ions by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) was studied. Liquid membrane consists of a diluent, a surfactant, and an extractant. 0.5 M ammonium carbonate solution was used as stripping solution. Effects of acid concentration in feed solution, type and concentration of stripping solution, mixing speed, surfactant concentration, phase ratio and the influence of membrane characteristics were studied and optimum conditions were determined. Under the optimum conditions, extraction of chromium (VI) was tested and it was possible to selectively extract 99% of chromium from the acidic feed solution. This study also examined the effect of extractant concentration and acid type in the feed solution on the extraction of Cr (VI) ions and almost all of Cr (VI) from the acidic feed solution containing 500 mg/L from each of Co (II), Ni (II), Cd (II), Zn (II), and Cu (II) ions, and 100–500 mg/L Cr (VI) was extracted within 5–10 min.     

Extraction of Bovine Serum Albumin Using Reverse Micelles Formed by Hexadecyl Trimethyl Ammonium Chloride

The extraction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been investigated using reverse micelles of hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride/n-octanol/isooctane. Forward extraction process parameters such as the surfactant concentration, co-solvent concentration, pH, ionic strength, and species of the initial aqueous phase were important factors affecting the extraction performance. These parameters were varied to optimize the extraction efficiency. Under the optimized conditions, forward extraction efficiencies of BSA can reach practically 99.55%. The thermodynamic study revealed that the extraction of BSA is controlled by entropy changes. Maximum back-extraction efficiency of 85.16% can be obtained at low pH values and high salt concentrations. The structures of BSA during reverse micelle extraction did not change by comparing the circular dichroism spectra of BSA back-extracted to the aqueous phase with that of feed BSA.     

Emulsion liquid membrane extraction of Ni(II) and Co(II) from acidic chloride solutions using bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid as extractant

An emulsion liquid membrane process using bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) to extract and separate Ni(II) and Co(II) from acidic chloride solutions is described. Liquid membrane consists of a diluent, a surfactant (Span 80), and an extractant (D2EHPA). Hydrochloric acid was used as the stripping solution. The important parameters governing the permeation of nickel and their effect on the separation process have been studied. These parameters are stirring speed, feed phase pH, surfactant concentration, extractant concentration, stripping phase concentration, phase ratio, initial concentration of metal, and treatment ratio. The optimum conditions have been determined. The separation factors of Ni(II) with respect to Co(II), based on initial feed concentration, have been experimentally determined. Furthermore, the extraction selectivity for Co(II) over Ni(II) has been improved by using D2EHPA during the initial minutes.     

Reverse Micellar Extraction of β-Galactosidase from Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

The reverse micellar system of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane was used for the extraction and primary purification of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) from the aqueous extract of barley (Hordeum vulgare) for the first time. The process parameters such as the concentration of the surfactant, the volume of the sample injected, and its protein concentration, pH, and ionic strength of the initial aqueous phase for forward extraction, buffer pH, and salt concentration for back extraction are varied to optimize the extraction efficiency. Studies carried out with both phase transfer and injection mode of reverse micellar extraction confirmed the injection mode to be more suitable for beta-galactosidase extraction. The extent of reverse micellar solubilization of proteins increased with an increase in protein concentration of the feed sample. However, back extraction efficiency remained almost constant (13-14.4%), which indicates the selectivity of AOT reverse micelles for a particular protein under given experimental conditions. beta-Galactosidase was extracted with an activity recovery of 98.74% and a degree of purification of 7.2-fold.     

Extraction of cadmium from aqueous solutions by emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) using three different carriers dissolved in a 70:30 ratio of sunflower oil to kerosene

This study explores the use of novel green emulation liquid membranes (GELMs) for the simultaneous extraction and stripping of Cd (II) from aqueous solutions. A solute is transported through the membrane due to the presence of the carrier and then concentrated in the internal phase. Soybean, sunflower, corn, and canola oils were used to form green substitutes to petroleum-based organic diluents for use as GELMs. Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (D2EHPA), tri-butyl- phosphate (TBP), and trioctylamine (TOA) were the extractants, span 80 was the emulsifier, and HCl or H₂SO₄ was used as the stripping agent. The best conditions for maximum extraction efficiency (98.68%), stripping efficiency (97.14%), and lowest membrane breakage (0.9%) were achieved using a mixture of sunflower oil and kerosene in the ratio of 70:30. The other optimum values of the variables were: 2% (v/v) Span 80, 10 min emulsification time, 12700 rpm emulsification speed, 400 rpm of agitation speed, 5% (v/v) D2EHPA, an external phase pH was 3.5, an internal phase of 0.25 M HCl, and 5:1 of the treat ratio (external phase to emulsion) at 10 min contact time. The synthesized membrane was reused eight times, with approximately the same efficiency and no significant breakage during the first seven cycles.