A Use of Polymer Inclusion Membrane as Anion Exchange Membrane for Recovery of Cu(II) Ions Based on an Electrogenerative System

Abstract

In this study, polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) was utilized as a novel ion exchange membrane for recovery of Cu(II) ions from an aqueous solution. The recovery of Cu(II) ions from copper(II) chloride solutions was proceed using a batch cell operated in an electrogenerative system. The recovery of Cu(II) ions was examined by using a three dimensional cathodes which are reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) and porous graphite (PG). The effect of initial concentration of Cu(II) chloride, the presence of oxygen, types of membrane and time taken were investigated. Polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) with a composition of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) 60 wt% (m/m):Aliquat 336 30 wt% (m/m):dioctyl phthalate (DOP) 10 wt% (m/m) together with RVC as the cathode produced highest recovery of Cu(II) ions after 4 h of experiment with 99.9% of Cu(II) ions recovery. Highly capable low cost PIM can be used to replace expensive commercially available anion exchange membranes without neglecting the performances and final results. PIM has a clear advantage over a commercially available anion exchange membrane especially in terms of high chemical stability, high dimensional ability, low diffusion of solute, ease of PIM's preparation and low cost of production. Result obtained by using PIM as an ion exchange membrane is comparable with the use of a commercially available ion exchange membrane. Therefore PIM has a massive potential to be applied in an electrogenerative system.