Studies on supported liquid membrane for simultaneous separation of Fe (III), Cu (II) and Ni (II) from dilute feed

Supported liquid membranes (SLMs) are used in the extraction and separation of metals from dilute feed. In this paper, we show an innovative applicati on of SLMs in the simultaneous separation of three metal species, employing a two-membrane-three-compartment cell. Two PTFE support membranes loaded w ith Alamine 336 and LIX 84, respectively, were used in this study. An Alami ne 336-loaded membrane was placed between the 1st and the 2nd compartment, whereas the LIX 84-loaded membrane was placed between the 2nd and the 3rd c ompartment of the transport cell. With this cell, we were able to separate Fe3+. Cu2+ and Ni2+ simultaneously from a feed containing these three speci es in 1 M NaCl and at pH of 2, into three compartments of the transport cel l. Fe3+ was separated from the feed through the Alamine 336-loaded membrane , whereas Cu2+ was transported through the LIX 84-loaded membrane. Ni2+ rem ained in the central feed compartment (2nd compartment) of the cell. The tr ansport fluxes of Fe3+ and Cu2+ through the two membranes were found to be 3.6 and 5.1 mu mol/m(2) s, respectively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B,V. All rights reserved.