Copper extraction from wastewater using a liquid membrane based on hollow fibers impregnated with M5640 material has been experimentally investigated. The permeability coefficients increase with increasing pH of the initial solution. At high concentration of hydrogen ions in the stock solution, the process was controlled by diffusion of CuR2 through the liquid membrane. At low concentrations of hydrogen ions, the permeability becomes independent of this factor and the process is controlled by diffusion through an aqueous diffusion layer formed at the interface between the stock solution and the liquid membrane. Experimental studies were consistent with the assumptions of the Danesi model.
A hollow fiber based liquid membrane impregnated with organic solvent M5640 diluted with kerosene is an attractive method to extract copper from low copper content (500ppm) industrial wastewater. The flow rate of the feed solution affects the permeability of the membrane. The optimum flow rates of the stock solution and strip solution were 2080 mL/h and 6264 mL/h, respectively. It can be considered that under the above conditions the resistance to mass transfer was close to the minimum due to the small thickness of the diffusion boundary layer.
