Water Transport in Water-in-Oil-in-Water Liquid Emulsion Membrane System for the Separation of Lactic Acid

Abstract

Abstract Liquid emulsion membranes (LEMs) were applied to the separation of lactic acid from an aqueous feed phase, and water transport (swelling) was investigated during the separation. Considering that as lactic acid was extracted into the internal stripping phase, osmotic pressure difference across the membrane was varied, the water transfer coefficient was evaluated. The water transfer coefficient was larger at higher carrier concentration and initial lactic acid concentration, which means that emulsion swelling can also be mediated by solute/carrier complexes although it is, in general, osmotically induced. The appropriate LEM formulation was given for separation and concentration of lactic acid. If both separation and concentration are desired, evidently emulsion swelling should be considered in conjunction with the transport rate of lactic acid. It was observed that the separated solute concentration in the internal phase was lowered due to swelling during the operation. Nevertheless, lactic acid c...