Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.58, No.2, 713-719, 2019
Removal of Acetaminophen from Aqueous Solution by Emulsion Liquid Membrane: Emulsion Stability Study
This study focused on the investigation of emulsion stability, membrane breakage, and emulsion swelling of an emulsion liquid membrane for acetaminophen (ACTP) removal. Stability of the emulsion as well as its effectiveness in removing ACTP from aqueous solution were considered for the optimization of parameters. Parameters involved are carrier and surfactant concentration, emulsification time, as well as volume ratio of membrane to internal phase. The effects of membrane breakage and emulsion diameter on the removal capacity of ACTP were also studied. Results showed that the optimal conditions to produce a very stable emulsion and to achieve maximum ACTP removal efficiency were found to be 4 wt % of trioctylamine (TOA) and Span 80, W/O volume ratio of 3, and 10 min of emulsification time. The prepared emulsion was found to effectively remove 85% of ACTP at minimal membrane breakage of 0.19%.