Optimization of ibuprofen and sulfamethoxazole extraction in green diluent liquid membrane using Plackett-Burman and Box Behnken designs

Abstract

Removal of ibuprofen (IBP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX) from wastewater is a key to environment protection and ecosystem sustainability. The current study investigates the use of green diluents as safer alternatives to hazardous petrochemical diluents in pharmaceutical extraction. Organic phase contains sunflower oil (SFO) and carrier Aliquat 336 effectively extracts IBP and SMX. Plackett-Burman Design (PPD) identifies significant parameters and the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) determines the interaction between parameters in emulsion liquid membrane (ELM). The extraction process considered various parameters such as time factors (emulsification and extraction), concentrations (carrier and initial feed phase), stirring speed, feed phase pH, phase ratios (Vem/Vfeed and O/I) and ionic strength. The results show that the most influential parameter was the initial concentration of feed phase, with standardised effects of 6.58 and 7.38 for IBP and SMX, respectively. ANOVA revealed that the extraction of IBP and SMX followed a quadratic model with R2 > 0.99. The optimal ELM, formulated of 0.1 M Aliquat 336, 50 mg/L IBP and pH 9 stripping phase, achieved 94.10% IBP extraction, while a 0.5 M resulted in 93.48% SMX extraction. This research is crucial for the development of a green extraction system and reducing the impact of hazardous materials on the environment. The research also established a quadratic model for extracting IBP and SMX from the aqueous phase.