Mass Transfer of Copper(II) in Hollow Fiber Renewal Liquid Membrane with Different Carriers

The extraction ability of organophosphorus extractant D2EHPA (di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid) and hydroximic extractant Lix984N are investigated by the extraction equilibrium experiments. Effects of carrier concentration and organic/aqueous volume ratio on the mass transfer of hollow fiber renewal liquid membrane (HFRLM) are studied. Results show that, in the extracting process, kerosene and n-heptane are more suitable than methyl-isobutyl ketone, butylacetate and benzene as the diluents of D2EHPA or Lix984N. The favorable feed pH is 4.4 for D2EHPA and 2.6 for Lix984N. The mass transfer flux of HFRLM increases with carrier concentration and finally reaches a plateau. The mass transfer flux and the overall transfer coefficient increase with the organic/aqueous volume ratio, reach the maximum and then decrease.