Emulsion stability of palladium extraction containing cyanex 302 as a mobile carrier in emulsion liquid membrane process

Abstract

Emulsion Liquid Membrane (ELM) process is one of the alternative techniques to extract solutes from wastewater. It has been given considerable attention due to its advantages such as simultaneous extraction and recovery in a single step operation, non-equilibrium mass transfer, high fluxes, low energy consumption, reusability and high selectivity. The main concern in order to achieve high stability in the process is the size of internal droplets of primary emulsion. This study aims to investigate the affecting parameters such as concentration of surfactant, emulsification speed and emulsification time. ELM process containing bis(2,4,4-Trimethylpentyl) monothiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 302) as a mobile carrier in kerosene and acidic thiourea as stripping agent was used. The stability results showed that 2.8 μm of droplet diameter was formed at favorable condition of 2 % w/v surfactant concentration, 12,000 rpm of emulsification within 3 min of emulsification time. At this condition, 84 % of Palladium was extracted.