Separation and Removal of Metal Ionic Species by Polymer Inclusion Membranes

Competitive alkali metal cation transport across polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) containing sym-(alkyl)dibenzo-16-crown-5-oxyacetic acid carriers provides excellent selectivity for Na⁺ transport with the total fluxes being strongly influenced by the length of the alkyl chain that is attached geminal to the functional side arm in the lariat ether. Removal of chromium(VI) anions by PIMs from acidic aqueous phases was also investigated. Using tri-n-octylamine (TOA) as the ion carrier, Cr(VI) was removed by a PIM to decrease the source phase metal concentration from 1.0 to 0.010 ppm after 30 hours of transport. Competitive transport of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) ions from acidic source phases through PIMs and supported liquid membranes (SLMs) containing TOA and tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) as carriers was evaluated and a very high Cr(VI)/Cr(III) separation ratio of 4800 was achieved with a PIM containing TOA. Competitive transport of Zn(II), Cd(II), and Cr(VI) from acidic aqueous solutions through PIMs containing TOA was investigated. The selectivity order for metal ion transport was: HCrO₄ ^–>CdCl₄ ^2–+CdCl₃ ^–>ZnCl₄ ^2–+ ZnCl₃ ^–. Non-contact atomic force microscopy was used to obtain images of the pores in cellulose triacetate membranes containing a plasticizer.