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.