Abstract
In the present study, the extraction of divalent heavy metals like copper [Cu (II)] and cadmium [Cd (II)] using a Pickering Emulsion Liquid Membrane (PELM) has been investigated by using three different surfactants such as Amphiphilic silica nanowires (ASNWs), Aluminum oxide nanoparticles (Alumina) and Sorbitan monooleate (SPAN 80). The influence of the process parameters such as pH, the stripping phase concentration, the agitation speed, and the carrier concentration on the extraction efficiency have been examined to find the optimum conditions at which the maximum recovery of Cu (II) and Cd (II) could take place. At optimum conditions, the extraction efficiency of 89.77% and 91.19% for Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions were achieved. Non-edible oils were used as diluent in this present study to reduce the need for toxic organic solvents in preparing PELM. The impact of each process factor on the extraction efficiency of Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions has been verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The higher values of F and lower values of P (less than 0.05) indicate pH is the most significant parameter on the percentage extraction of Cu (II) and Cd (II) using the Taguchi design approach.
Highlights
Divalent copper, Cu (II) ions are toxic above the concentration of 2 mg/L as per the general standards for the discharge of the environmental pollutants
It has been observed that the percentage extraction efficiency of Cu (II) decreases from 85.88% to 56.63% with an increase in pH from 2 to 6 for Amphiphilic silica nanowires (ASNWs)
The Pickering Emulsion Liquid Membrane (PELM) process has been used for the extraction of Cu (II) and Cd (II) ions from the synthetic wastewater solution
Summary
Cu (II) ions are toxic above the concentration of 2 mg/L as per the general standards for the discharge of the environmental pollutants. Cd (II) ions are toxic even at an extremely low concentration. Excessive Cd (II) exposure could result in health risks like kidney damage, lethargy, headache, vomiting, nausea, ataxia, renal disorder and increased thirst (Mortaheb et al ). It is the responsibility of the research community who work in the heavy metal toxicity to find a feasible and an effective method for the removal of Cu (II) and Cd (II) from the industrial effluents before discharging them to surface water (Ahmad et al )
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