Determining kinetic constants and transport efficiencies at membrane interfaces to optimize the removal/recovery of Cu(II) through lulk liquid membranes containing benzoylacetone as carrier

Abstract

The removal, separation, and enrichment of heavy metals in aqueous solutions has become a prime concern over the last few decades because of both their adverse effects on the ecosystem and living organisms and their valuable resource character. This paper describes a study to optimize the simultaneous removal/ recovery of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by bulk liquid membranes, through a facilitated countertransport mechanism using benzoylacetone as a mobile carrier and hydrochloric acid as a stripping agent (protons as counter ions), by analyzing the effect of different operational variables (carrier concentration in membrane phase, stripping agent concentration in product phase, stirring rate, and membrane phase volume) on the removal/recovery kinetics constants and on the transport efficiencies through the feed/membrane and membrane/product interfaces.