Abstract
In the last few years, the use of ionic liquid-based membranes has gained importance in a wide variety of separation processes due to the unique properties of ionic liquids. The aim of this work is to analyze the transport of nutrients through polymer inclusion membranes based on different concentrations of methyltrioctylammonium chloride, in order to broaden the application range of these kinds of membranes. Calcium chloride (CaCl2) and sodium hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4) nutrients were used at the concentration of 1 g·L−1 in the feeding phase. The evolution of the concentration in the receiving phase over time (168 h) was monitored and the experimental data fitted to a diffusion-solution transport model. The results show very low permeation values for CaCl2. By contrast, in the case of Na2HPO4 the permeation values were higher and increase as the amount of ionic liquid in the membrane also increases. The surface of the membranes was characterized before and after being used in the separation process by scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) and elemental mapping analysis. The SEM–EDX images show that the polymer inclusion membranes studied are stable to aqueous solution contacting phases and therefore, they might be used for the selective transport of nutrients in separation processes.
Highlights
Over the years, membrane-based processes have attracted much interest because they can be performed under moderate conditions and their energy needs are significantly lower [1]
The aim of this work is to analyze the transport of nutrients such as CaCl2 and Na2 HPO4 through polymer inclusion membranes based on ammonium-based ionic liquids (ILs)
The results show that polymer inclusion membranes containing [MTOA+ ][Cl− ] are stable towards an aqueous solution of the studied nutrients
Summary
Membrane-based processes have attracted much interest because they can be performed under moderate conditions and their energy needs are significantly lower [1]. Ultrafiltration, microfiltration, pervaporation, and gas permeation are a few examples of the most common membrane-based processes. In all these cases, the performance of the separation process might be improved by tailoring the membrane properties for the selective separation of a specific compound. Ionic liquids are molten salts, which remain liquid at temperatures below 100 ◦ C. They usually consist of an organic cation (imidazolium, pyrrolidinium, pyridinium, etc.) and an Processes 2019, 7, 544; doi:10.3390/pr7080544 www.mdpi.com/journal/processes
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