REMOVAL OF VALERIC ACID FROM WASTEWATERS BY MEMBRANE CONTACTORS

Membrane contactors, providing a non-dispersive extraction technique, were used for the removal of valeric (n-pentanoic) acid from synthetic aqueous solutions simulating an industrial wastewater from polymer ma nufacturing. Amberlite LA-2 (secondary amine) in toluene was chosen as the extraction system. Equilibrium conditions were determined and mec hanistically modelled for different extractant concentrations allowing the further calculation of mass transfer coefficients. The influence of the hydrodynamics of both the aqueous and organic phases on the ove rall mass transfer coefficient, calculated through two proposed method s, was studied. The integration of extraction and backextraction was a lso carried out, allowing a further acid removal with lower extractant concentrations. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.