Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4990160 | Separation and Purification Technology | 2017 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
The potential of a commercially available imidazolium-based ionic liquid (C2C1imC1SO4) to selectively separate two model emerging contaminants, ethynylestradiol and clenbuterol, from aqueous solutions containing non-ionic surfactants (Triton X-100 and Triton X-102) was proved. After a first stage where the binodal curves and tie-lines of the systems were obtained, all the experimental data were suitably correlated with different empirical equations. Then, a 2-step sequential extraction of ethynylestradiol and clenbuterol was investigated by means of a factorial design. In this way, while ethynylestradiol completely partitions to the light layer no matter the operating conditions, clenbuterol extraction can be tuned by a cautious selection of the ionic liquid concentration. Then, while ionic liquid concentrations higher than 70% led to about 4% of clenbuterol extraction in the upper phase, the operation at concentration levels lower than 18% entailed up to 96% of removal. The confirmation of this behavior with synthetic urine proved the relevance of the present data for the implementation of a separation process allowing the selective removal of clenbuterol and ethynylestradiol from aqueous streams, which poses undoubted significant environmental and analytical interest.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Filtration and Separation
Authors
Lois Morandeira, MarÃa S. Álvarez, Francisco J. Deive, Mª Ángeles Sanromán, Ana RodrÃguez,