Separation of cadmium and lead from wastewater using supported liquid membrane integrated with in-situ electrodeposition

A novel process for separation of heavy metals from liquid wastes and/or industrial effluents has been developed as described in this paper wherein the technique of supported liquid membrane based extraction and stripping of heavy metals has been augmented with electroplating inside the stripping chamber of SLM. Wastewater, infested with cadmium and lead, has been subject of research in this work. The said process is employed in transporting the heavy metals from the polluted source phase (wastewater) to the sink (or strip) phase while simultaneously depositing the heavy metals in-situ on the electrode placed inside the strip phase, and thereby the strip phase is remained ever-unsaturated. This arrangement yields high gradient of chemical potential across the liquid membrane and thereby facilitates enhanced and faster recovery of said heavy metals and also yields value added component, viz. electroplated items, for suitable end use.