High enrichment method for the determination of ultra-trace levels of cobalt by liquid—liquid extraction using water/oil/water emulsions as liquid surfactant membranes

A high preconcentration method for the determination of cobalt by graphie furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using liquid surfactant membranes was developed. Droplets of dilute hydrochloric acid in kerosene containing 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester emulsion coated with sorbitan monooleate are dispersed in an aqueous sample solution. Cobalt(II) diffuses through the liquid membrane to form the complex with the ester and the analyte ion is extracted successively into the inner acidic aqueous phase. A 550-fold enrichment of cobalt(II) and a detection limit of 10 pg ml^?1 are achieved.     

Separation of traces of heavy metals from an iron matrix by use of an emulsion liquid membrane

An emulsion liquid membrane method has been developed for separating traces of heavy metals from an iron matrix. A 1.0-mL volume of aqueous iron(III) solution (pH 2.0) was emulsified with a mixture of 0.6 mL toluene, 2.4 mL n -heptane, and 80 mg sorbitan monooleate (Span-80). The resulting water-in-oil type emulsion was gradually injected into 25 mL of 1.5 mol L^–1 hydrochloric acid solution containing 30 mmol L^–1 8-quinolinol and 1.0 mol L^–1 of ammonium sulfate and was dispersed as numerous tiny globules by stirring for 40 min. More than 90% of the iron(III) diffused through the oil layer to the external hydrochloric acid solution with the aid of complexation with 8-quinolinol, whereas trace heavy metals, e.g. Cr(III), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II), remained quantitatively in the internal aqueous phase. After collecting the dispersed emulsion globules, they were demulsified and trace metals in the segregated aqueous phase were determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Owing to sufficient removal of the iron matrix trace metal impurities in high-purity iron were successfully determined without interference, as was confirmed by analysis of certified reference materials.     

A water-in-oil emulsion containing Kelex-100 for the speciation analysis of trace heavy metals in water

A water-in-oil (w/o) emulsion containing Kelex-100 (7-dodecenyl-8-quinolinol) and Span-80 (sorbitan monooleate, non-ionic surfactant) was ultrasonically prepared from 1.0 mol l⁻¹ hydrochloric acid and a (1 + 3) mixture of toluene and n-heptane. The resulting emulsion was gradually injected into water sample and dispersed as numerous tiny globules (0.01-0.1 mm in diameter). Dissolved inorganic species (free metal species) of heavy metals (e.g., Fe, Co, Cu, Cd, and Pb) were selectively transported through the oil layer into the internal aqueous phase of the emulsion, leaving other species, such as humic complexes and suspended particles (larger than 1 μm), in the sample solution. After collecting the dispersed emulsion globules, they were demulsified and the heavy metals in the segregated aqueous phase were determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The emulsion-based separation method allowed the selective collection of free metal species with a high concentration factor of 100, whereas the conventional solvent extraction did not offer such discrimination. This unique property of the emulsion method was successfully applied to the selective determination of free species of heavy metals in fresh water samples.     

Effect of volume ratio of internal aqueous phase to organic membrane phase (w/o ratio) of water-in-oil emulsion on penicillin G extraction by emulsion liquid membrane

The batch extraction of penicillin G from a model media was studied so as to obtain the optimal w/o ratio in an emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) system with the help of our previous works. First of all, the effects of organic solvents or surfactants in membrane phase on apparent degree of its extraction at various w/o ratios were investigated. The organic solvents and surfactants were kerosene/n-butyl acetate and Span 80/PARABAR 9551, respectively. The optimal composition between two surfactants for the highest apparent degree of extraction was obtained at each w/o ratio.With the optimal surfactant composition at each w/o ratio, citrate buffer solutions of three different concentrations having about pH 4.8 were selected as the external aqueous phase. The mass of Na₂CO₃ in the internal phase was kept constant for every w/o ratio in order to investigate the effects of w/o ratio on the degree of extraction under the same trapping mass of Na₂CO₃ for penicillin G. The highest possible concentration of Na₂CO₃ in the internal phase was chosen using balance equations and equilibrium expressions. In consequence, the highest actual degree of extraction of 98.2% and the lowest percentage of swelling of 36.0 were obtained in the specific ELM system with 0.41 M citrate buffer solution, 0.175 M Na₂CO₃ and w/o ratio of 1/1.     

Stripping dispersion hollow fiber liquid membrane containing carrier PC-88A and HNO3 for the extraction of Sm3+

Stripping dispersion hollow fiber liquid membrane system（SDHFLM） containing feed phase adding acetate buffer solution and dispersion solution with HNO₃ solution as the stripping solution and membrane solution of 2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid-mono-2-ethylhexyl ester（PC-88A） dissolved in kerosene,has been studied for the extraction of Sm³⁺.Many factors including pH value, volume ratio of membrane solution to stripping solution（OAV） and carrier concentration on Sm³⁺ extraction were investigated. Experimental results indicate that the optimum extraction conditions of Sm³⁺ were obtained as that PC-88A concentration was 0.120 mol/L,and OAV was 1.00 in the dispersion phase,and pH value was 4.80 in the feed phase.When initial Sm³⁺ concentration was 1.20×10^-4 mol/L,the extraction percentage of Sm³⁺ was up to 92.8%in 160 min.     

Room temperature ionic liquid as a novel medium for liquid/liquid extraction of metal ions

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been used as novel solvents to replace traditional volatile organic solvents in organic synthesis, solvent extraction, and electrochemistry. The hydrophobic character and water immiscibility of certain ionic liquids allow their use in solvent extraction of hydrophobic compounds. In this work, a typical room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C₄mim][PF₆], was used as an alternative solvent to study liquid/liquid extraction of heavy metal ions. Dithizone was employed as a metal chelator to form neutral metal-dithizone complexes with heavy metal ions to extract metal ions from aqueous solution into [C₄mim][PF₆]. This extraction is possible due to the high distribution ratios of the metal complexes between [C₄mim][PF₆] and aqueous phase. Since the distribution ratios of metal dithiozonates between [C₄mim][PF₆] and aqueous phase are strongly pH dependent, the extraction efficiencies of metal complexes can be manipulated by tailoring the pH value of the extraction system. Hence, the extraction, separation, and preconcentraction of heavy metal ions with the biphasic system of [C₄mim][PF₆] and aqueous phase can be achieved by controlling the pH value of the extraction system. Preliminary results indicate that the use of [C₄mim][PF₆] as an alternate solvent to replace traditional organic solvents in liquid/liquid extraction of heavy metal ions is very promising.     

Electrochemical assessment of water|ionic liquid biphasic systems towards cesium extraction from nuclear waste

A room temperature ionic liquid (IL) composed of a quaternary alkylphosphonium (trihexyltetradecylphosphonium, P₆₆₆₁₄⁺) and tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate anion (TB⁻) was employed within a water|P₆₆₆₁₄TB (w|P₆₆₆₁₄TB or w|IL) biphasic system to evaluate cesium ion extraction in comparison to that with a traditional water|organic solvent (w|o) combination. ¹³⁷Cs is a major contributor to the radioactivity of spent nuclear fuel as it leaves the reactor, and its extraction efficiency is therefore of considerable importance. The extraction was facilitated by the ligand octyl(phenyl)-N,N′-diisobutylcarbamoylphosphine oxide (CMPO) used in TRans-Uranium EXtraction processes and investigated through well established liquid|liquid electrochemistry. This study gave access to the metal ion to ligand (1:n) stoichiometry and overall complexation constant, β, of the interfacial complexation reaction which were determined to be 1:3 and 1.6 × 10¹¹ at the w|P₆₆₆₁₄TB interface while the study at w|o elicited an n equal to 1 with β equal to 86.5. Through a straightforward relationship, these complexation constant values were converted to distribution coefficients, δ_α, with the ligand concentrations studied for comparison to other studies present in the literature; the w|o and w|IL systems gave δ_α of 2 and 8.2 × 10⁷, respectively, indicating a higher overall extraction efficiency for the latter. For the w|o system, the metal ion-ligand stoichiometries were confirmed through isotopic distribution analysis of mass spectra obtained by the direct injection of an emulsified water–organic solvent mixture into an electron spray ionization mass spectrometer.     

Indirect Atomic Absorption Determination of Cocaine via Formation and Liquid‐liquid Extraction of the Iron(III)‐cocaine Complex

The principles of metal‐alkaloid ion‐pair formation and liquid‐liquid extraction are applied to the development of a sensitive and convenient atomic absorption spectrophotometery (AAS) method for the indirect determination of cocaine. In an aqueous medium of 5 M hydrochloric acid, cocaine is protonated and is associated with tetrachloro ferrate (III) anion prior to its extraction into 1,2‐dichloroethane. The critical experimental variables were identified and optimized. The method is simple and reproducible with a detection limit (DL) of 0.1 ng cm^?3 cocaine in water, a relative standard deviation of 0.07 (n = 12), and the calibration graph was linear up to 50 ng cm^?3 cocaine.     

Redox-driven transport of copper ions in an emulsion liquid membrane system

A new redox-driven type of emulsion liquid membrane separation is described. Milligram amounts of copper(II) in 0.2 M hydrochloric acid were reduced to copper(I) in the presence of ascorbic acid (1 M≡1 mol l⁻¹). The copper solution was emulsified with a (1+4) mixture of toluene and n-heptane using Span-80 (sorbitan monooleate) as an emusifier. The resulting water-in-oil emulsion was dispersed in 0.2 M hydrochloric acid containing hydrogen peroxide and neocuproine (2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) by stirring for 10 min. The copper in the internal aqueous phase was selectively transported to the external one, leaving other heavy metals (e.g., Mn, Co, Ni, Cd and Pb) in the internal aqueous phase. After collecting the dispersed emulsion globules, they were demulsified by heating and the metals in the segregated aqueous phase were determined by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The selective transport of copper offered the multielement separation of trace heavy metals from a copper matrix, allowing the GFAAS determination of impurities at the 0.01% level in copper metal.     

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.     

Ionic strength effect on the liquid–liquid extraction of zinc(II) and cadmium(II) from sulphate medium by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoylpyrazol-5-one in chloroform

The liquid–liquid extraction of zinc(II) and cadmium(II) from sulphate medium by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoylpyrazol-5-one (HPMBP) in chloroform is studied. The ionic strength effect of the aqueous phase shows that the extraction of the metal increases with decreasing concentration of sulphate. At initially of about 10^?4?M with three different sulphate concentrations 0.033, 0.16 and 0.33?M in the aqueous phase, Zn(II) and Cd(II) are extracted as the complexes Zn(PMBP)₂ and Cd(PMBP)₂. Sulphate complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II) are formed in the aqueous phase. The metal–sulphate interaction has been made in evidence by using the Debye–Huckel extended limiting law of ionic activity coefficient.     

Extraction of thorium with 2-ethyl hexyl phosphonic acid mono-2- ethyl hexyl ester (PC-88A)

The extraction of thorium from chloride medium with 2-ethyl hexyl phosphonicacid mono-2-ethyl hexyl ester, commercially known as PC-88A, in dodecane hasbeen investigated as a function of metal ion and hydrogen ion concentrationsin the aqueous phase and extractant concentration in the organic phase. Slopeanalysis and non linear least square regression of the data to the mathematicalexpression correlating percent extraction and equilibrium pH, suggested theformation of monomeric neutral complex of the type ThCl₂ (HA₂ )₂ (H₂A₂ ) in the PC-88A phase uptoan aqueous acidity of 4N₂ (H₂A₂ ) in thePC-88A phase upto an aqueous acidity of 4N.     

Thioether-mediated copper transport through liquid membranes with the aid of redox reaction

A thioether-mediated copper transport with the aid of redox reaction was studied in a polymer-supported liquid membrane and in a liquid surfactant membrane. A photochemical generation of the redox potential led to a photo-assisted copper separation and concentration system. Tetradentate thioethers 1 and 2 (L) selectively extracted copper ion into organic solution in the presence of a reducing agent, and served as a copper-selective carrier in a liquid membrane system. In the polymer-supported organic liquid membrane system, the thioether was dissolved in the membrane phase which separated the two aqueous solutions of different redox potentials. The copper ion was extracted into the membrane phase by formation of the [Cu^IL]⁺ ? X^? type complex on the reducing solution interface and permeated through the membrane toward the oxidizing solution interface, where the complex was decomposed to release the copper(II) species into the oxidizing aqueous solution. The nature of the system was studied in detail under various operational conditions (redox agents, pairing anion X^?, coexisting metals, etc.) and compared with that of the previously reported Bathocuproine-mediated system. The transport system was extended to the water-in-oil-in-water emulsion system (liquid surfactant membrane), and the selective concentration of copper ion from dilute external aqueous solutions into inner stripping solutions was achieved. Photo-induced redox reactions, triethanolamine—acriflavine—methyl viologen—hv and glucose—titanium oxide—hv, were successfully coupled to the systems, leading to a photo-assisted copper transport in the polymer-supported liquid membrane as well as in the liquid surfactant membrane. Tentative explanations were given on the nature of the membrane transport reactions.     

Purification of papain by metal affinity partitioning in aqueous two‐phase polyethylene glycol/sodium sulfate systems

A simple and inexpensive aqueous two‐phase affinity partitioning system using metal ligands was introduced to improve the selectivity of commercial papain extraction. Polyethylene glycol 4000 was first activated using epichlorohydrin, then it was covalently linked to iminodiacetic acid. Finally, the specific metal ligand Cu²⁺ was attached to the polyethylene glycol‐iminodiacetic acid. The chelated Cu²⁺ content was measured by atomic absorption spectrometry as 0.88 mol/mol (polyethylene glycol). The effects on the purification at different conditions, including polyethylene glycol molecular weight (2000, 4000, and 6000), concentration of phase–forming components (polyethylene glycol 12–20% w/w and sodium sulfate 12–20%, w/w), metal ligand type, and concentration, system pH and the commercial papain loading on papain extraction, were systematically studied. Under optimum conditions of the system, i.e. 18% w/w sodium sulfate, 18% w/w polyethylene glycol 4000, 1% w/w polyethylene glycol‐iminodiacetic acid‐Cu²⁺ and pH 7, a maximum yield of 90.3% and a degree of purification of 3.6‐fold were obtained. Compared to aqueous two phase extraction without ligands, affinity partitioning was found to be an effective technique for the purification of commercial papain with higher extraction efficiency and degree of purification.     

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.     

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.     

Use of a novel medium, the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-trimethylsilylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, for liquid-liquid extraction of lead in water and its determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

The ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-trimethylsilylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, abbreviated as [C4tmsim][PF6], was developed as a novel medium for liquid-liquid extraction of lead(II) in water, in which dithizone was used as a metal chelator to form a neutral lead-dithizone complex. Under optimal conditions, the complex was extracted into the [C4tmsim][PF6] phase from aqueous solution and back-extracted with nitric acid solution into the aqueous phase that was used directly for the subsequent determination of Pb. The system using the ionic liquid demonstrated good extraction performance; the extraction and back-extraction efficiencies were 99.8 and 99.7%, respectively, for Pb(II) at 20 microg/L. The above procedure, including the extraction and back-extraction, was used to enrich trace levels of Pb(ll) in a relatively large volume of water samples (1000 mL water), and an enrichment factor of 400 was obtained. The enrichment coupled with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry was successfully applied to the determination of Pb in water. The calibration graph was linear at levels near the detection limits up to > or = 100 ng/L Pb(II). The limits of quantitation and detection for lead in real water samples were 2.5 and 1.0 ng/L, respectively. Lead recoveries of 96.2-103.8% from spiked samples demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed method.     

Tailoring of the external and internal morphology of poly-3-hydroxy butyrate microparticles

Some microencapsulation procedures such as oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsions were selected in an attempt to produce tailored poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) microparticles. The effects of several processing parameters such as polymer precipitation, surfactant, solvent, stirring and solvent evaporation rates were also considered. As a rule, low stirring rates at 500 rpm yielded particles ranging between 100 to 250 μm and at rates over 8000 rpm, diameters around 5–10 μm. The surfaces of the bigger particles, observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were rough and the smaller ones were even rougher, irregular, cauliflower like. The extraction of the chloroform under low pressure or to the open atmosphere did not produce any appreciable change in the morphology for either type of particle. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs suggest that microparticles obtained by o/w emulsions are monolithics but those obtained by w/o/w emulsions are of capsule-like structure. Microencapsulation of a peptide material such as follicle stimulating hormone was carried out with success using a double emulsion technique. This biomaterial, dissolved in the inner aqueous phase, was able to stabilize the primary emulsion without using a surfactant.     

Separation and preconcentration of mercury in water samples by ionic liquid supported cloud point extraction and fluorimetric determination

We have developed a cloud point extraction procedure based on room temperature ionic liquid for the preconcentration and determination of mercury in water samples. Mercury ion was quantitatively extracted with tetraethyleneglycol-bis(3- methylimidazolium) diiodide in the form of its complex with 5,10,15,20-tetra-(4-phenoxyphenyl)porphyrin. The complex was back extracted from the room temperature ionic liquid phase into an aqueous media prior to its analysis by spectrofluorimetry. An overall preconcentration factor of 45 was accomplished upon preconcentration of a 20?mL sample. The limit of detection obtained under the optimal conditions is 0.08?μg mL^?1, and the relative standard deviation for 10 replicate assays (at 0.5?g mL^?1 of Hg) was 2.4%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of mercury in tap, river and mineral water samples.

An infrared spectroscopic based method for mercury(II) detection in aqueous solutions

A new method that uses solid phase extraction (SPE) coupled with FTIR spectroscopy to detect Hg(II) in aqueous samples is described. The technique is envisioned for on-site, field evaluation rather than lab-based techniques. This paper presents the “proof of principle” of this new approach toward measurements of Hg(II) in water and identifies mass transport issues that would need to be overcome in order to migrate from a lab based method to field operation. The SPE material supported on a Si wafer is derivatized with an acylthiosemicarbazide, which undergoes a reaction in the presence of aqueous Hg(II) to form an oxadiazole ring. The progress of the reaction is monitored by IR spectroscopy. Following EPA guidelines, the method of detection limit (MDL) for the SPE/IR was 5 μg of Hg(II) cm⁻². In a 1 L sample and a 1 cm² Si wafer, this translates to a detection limit of 5 ppb. This system shows a high selectivity toward aqueous Hg(II) over other thiophilic heavy metal ions such as Pb(II), Cd(II), Fe(III), and Zn(II) and other metal ions such as Ni(II), Mn(II), Co(II), Cu(II), In(III), Ru(III), Na(I), and Ag(I) in aqueous solutions.