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Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58

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Compressed air-assisted solvent extraction (CASX) for metal removal

Chi-Wang Li *, Yi-Ming Chen, Shin-Tien Hsiao
Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, TamKang University, 151 Ying-Chuan Road, Tamsui 25137, Taipei County, Taiwan

Received 1 August 2007; received in revised form 22 October 2007; accepted 23 October 2007
Available online 18 December 2007

Abstract

A novel process, compressed air-assisted solvent extraction (CASX), was developed to generate micro-sized solvent-coated air bubbles
(MSAB) for metal extraction. Through pressurization of solvent with compressed air followed by releasing air-oversaturated solvent into
metal-containing wastewater, MSAB were generated instantaneously. The enormous surface area of MSAB makes extraction process
extremely fast and achieves very high aqueous/solvent weight ratio (A/S ratio). CASX process completely removed Cr(VI) from acidic
electroplating wastewater under A/S ratio of 115 and extraction time of less than 10 s. When synthetic wastewater containing Cd(II) of
50 mg l1 was treated, A/S ratios of higher than 714 and 1190 could be achieved using solvent with extractant/diluent weight ratio of 1:1
and 5:1, respectively. Also, MSAB have very different physical properties, such as size and density, compared to the emulsified solvent
droplets, making separation and recovery of solvent from treated effluent very easy.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Pressurization; Extraction; Cr(VI); Cd(II); D2EHPA; Aliquat 336

1. Introduction ence, solvent partition into feed and stripping solutions,

With traditional liquid–liquid extraction, long extrac-
tion time and high solvent/aqueous weight ratio are
required to achieve efficient contaminant removal (Pereira
et al., 2007). Increasing interfacial area between solvent
and aqueous phases is the key to reduce extraction time
and solvent usage. However, it requires vigorous mixing
which comes with expense of creating difficult-handled
emulsified solvent droplets. Several versions of solvent
extraction processes have been developed to overcome
aforementioned problems with various degrees of success.
For example, supported liquid membrane (SLM) was pro-
posed to increase interfacial area without creating emulsifi-
cation problem, and to achieve both extraction and
stripping in one process (Valenzuela et al., 1999; Bukhari
et al., 2004; Swain et al., 2004; Van de Voorde et al.,
2004; Zaghbani et al., 2005; Gu et al., 2006). However, loss
of solvent from the membrane pores due to pressure differ-
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 2 26239343; fax: +886 2 26209651.
E-mail address: chiwang@mail.tku.edu.tw (C.-W. Li).
pore wetting, etc., makes SLM unstable, and frequent re-
impregnation of membrane with solvent is required to
restore the stability of SLM (Van de Voorde et al., 2004;
Kozlowski and Walkowiak, 2005; Galan et al., 2006; Gu
et al., 2006). Also, SLM includes both extraction and strip-
ping steps, making kinetic of contaminant removal not
very impressive. Dependence of diluents, extractants, and
metals studied, removal kinetics in terms of metal flux
across unit area of membrane and unit time, i.e., metal
molar flux (Mflux), are in the order of 105–108 mol
m2 s1 (Valenzuela et al., 1999; Bukhari et al., 2004; Fu
et al., 2004; Swain et al., 2004; Van de Voorde et al.,
2004; Leon and Guzman, 2005; Zaghbani et al., 2005).
Through a specially designed nozzle, air-assisted solvent
extraction (AASX) proposed by Finch and co-works (Chen
et al., 2003; Tarkan and Finch, 2005) can generate solvent-
coated air bubbles by directing an air stream through a sol-
vent container. The process creates huge interfacial area
between aqueous and solvent phases, achieving good phase
separation with A/S volume ratio of 150. Compared with
conventional liquid–liquid extraction, AASX removed the
same amount of metals with solvent just a fraction of that

0045-6535/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.10.050
52 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58
used by liquid–liquid extraction, e.g., 1 ml for AASX versus
70 ml for liquid–liquid extraction (Tarkan and Finch, 2005).
In Finch’s studies, average diameter of 0.44 cm for sol-
vent-coated air bubble and average thickness of 3 lm for
solvent layer were generated (Tarkan and Finch, 2005; Tar-
kan et al., 2006). Based on these numbers, volume of sol-
vent per volume of air (VS/VA) is 2.048 · 103 as shown
in Eq. (2), and specific surface area, Sa, of solvent-coated
air bubbles in terms of area per volume of solvent is
0.667 m2 ml1 as shown in Eq. (4).
VS d3  d 3air
ðml=mlÞ ¼ solvent-coated
VA d 3air
3
0:443  ð0:44  3  104 Þ
¼ 4 3
¼ 2:05  103
ð0:44  3  10 Þ
pd 2solvent-coated
S a ðm2 =mlÞ ¼ p
6
ðd 3solvent-coated  d 3air Þ
6  0:442
¼ 3
 104 ¼ 0:67
0:443  ð0:44  3  104 Þ
where dsolvent-coated and dair are the diameters of solvent-
coated air bubble and air bubbles without solvent layer,
respectively.
According to their result (Tarkan and Finch, 2005), 1 ml
of solvent introduced by AASX can achieve 30% of copper
removal from 150 ml of wastewater containing 500 mg l1
of copper, i.e., 3.54 · 104 mol of copper removed. Since
the contact time between solvent-coated air bubbles and
aqueous phase is the rising time of solvent-coated air bub-
bles which is around 0.57 s according to the rise velocity of
22.5 cm s1 and wastewater column height of 12.8 cm, the
kinetics of copper removal in terms of metal flux can be
roughly calculated for AASX in Eq. (5) which is two to five
orders faster than SLM.
 
mol moles of metal removed
M flux ¼ into aqueous phase.
m2 s solvent area provided  extraction time
3:54  104
¼ ¼ 9:31  104
0:667  :57
The reasons might be due to the fact that the AASX in-
volves only metal extraction while in SLM process both
extraction and stripping processes are incorporated. Also,
the solvent layer in AASX is much thinner than that for
SLM which is the thickness of membrane employed. Other
than two aqueous boundary layers (one for feeding phase
and the other for the stripping phase) on the either side
of membrane, the thickness of solvent phase which is the
thickness of supported membranes might be in the order
of 100 lm (Buonomenna et al., 2006; Hassoune et al.,
2006). Thus, metal ions have to travel from feed to strip-
ping phases through a long path filled with viscous solvent.
Indeed, it has been shown that solvent phase is the kinetic
limiting step for metal transfer in the SLM process (Buo-
nomenna et al., 2006; Kumric et al., 2006).
Although AASX process has the advantages of using
less solvent and achieving good aqueous/solvent separa-
tion, the rate of solvent-coated air bubble generation was
limited by and dependent on the rate of flow of air. In
Tarkan and Finch (2005) study, to achieve 30% of Cu
removal (the highest removal efficiency demonstrated),
1 ml of solvent was required; however time required to
introduce these amount of solvent was not reported. Nev-
ertheless, with air stream flow rate (4 ml min1), average
radius of solvent-coated air bubbles, and average thickness
of the solvent coating layer, time required to introduce 1 ml
of solvent into aqueous solution can be calculated to be
122 min. While it is possible to increase flow rate of air
stream to reduce the time required, elevated air flow rate
ð1Þ will push out solvent directly, making formation of sol-
vent-coated air bubbles impossible. Alternatively, multiple
nozzles can be employed to speed up the formation of
solvent-coated air bubbles (Tarkan and Finch, 2006).
In this manuscript, a novel process based on idea of
ð2Þ AASX process with modification was proposed for metal
removal. The proposed process, compressed air-assisted
solvent extraction (CASX), incorporates an air-pressurized
solvent tank to create air-saturated solvent under elevated
pressure. The air-saturated solvent was then released into
metal-containing wastewater in a glass reactor under atmo-
spheric conditions, generating solvent-coated air bubbles
instantaneously through releasing oversaturated air in sol-
vent phase. According to the previous researches on dis-
solved air flotation (De Rijk et al., 1994; Vlyssides et al.,
2004), pressure is the main factor affecting average radius
of the air bubbles generated, which are on average between
5 and 170 lm and mainly in the ranges 5–20 lm (Vlyssides
et al., 2004). Therefore, applying the concept of dissolved
air flotation on pressurization of solvent phase, one can
generate enormous amount of micro-sized solvent-coated
air bubbles (MSAB) upon releasing pressurized solvent
To this end, the objectives of this study are to demon-
strate the possibility of applying CASX on removing
Cd(II) from synthetic wastewater and Cr(VI) from electro-
ð3Þ plating wastewater, exploring the effects of operation con-
ditions such as pH, compressed air pressure, extraction
time, extractant/diluent ratio, and solvent dosage (mixture
of extractant and diluent was denoted as solvent thereaf-
ter) on metal removal efficiency. At the same time, com-
parison of metal removal efficiency and rate by CASX
and by traditional liquid–liquid solvent extraction is
conducted.
2. Materials and methods
All chemicals were of reagent grade. Synthetic wastewa-
ters containing Cd(II) were prepared from 1000 mg l1 ICP
standard (J.T. Baker) with deionized (DI) water. Electro-
plating wastewater was collected from local electroplating
facility in northern Taiwan during 2004/10-2005/7, and
the pH of wastewater is quite acidic with Cr(VI) concentra-
 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58
Air bubble created
by aeration
Cl-
solvent-coated air bubble
Cr(VI)
Aliquat 336/kerosene
Aeration
Fig. 1. Schematic of the compressed air-assisted solvent extraction system.
tion in the ranges of 400–887 mg l1 (Chen et al., 2007).
Bis(2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate (D2EHPA; Fluka)
was chosen as the extractant for Cd(II) removal (Ata and
Colak, 2005; Leon and Guzman, 2005; He et al., 2006),
while trioctylmethylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336;
ACROS) was employed for removing Cr(VI) from electro-
plating wastewater (Bhowal and Datta, 2001; Kozlowski
and Walkowiak, 2005). Kerosene (CPC corporation,
Taiwan) purchased from local gas station was chosen as
the organic diluent. Various ratios of extractant/diluent
(w/w) were prepared.
Fig. 1 shows schematic setup of the proposed process.
The solvent tank was made of stainless steel with solvent
compartment (ID of 10 cm; height of 10 cm) connecting
to air compartment (ID of 10 cm; height of 5 cm) with a
narrow passage (ID of 1 cm; length of 5 cm). After solvent
was loaded, the liquid level was marked on the clear tube
connecting to the main body of the vessel for subsequent
determination of solvent used. The vessel was closed and
then slowly pressurized with a compressed air tank to
the desired pressure. After equilibrium at the desired pres-
sure for at least 5 min, pressurized solvent was then
released to a glass column reactor (ID of 6 cm; height of
50 cm) containing 500 ml of aqueous solution (pre-equili-
brated in a 25 C water bath), generating MSAB. The
aqueous phase was allowed to react with MSAB for pre-
determined time under gentle aeration (0.6 l min1). If nec-
essary, pH was maintained at the desired value throughout
reaction with an automatic pH controller (PC3200, SUN-
TEX INSTRUMENTS CO., Ltd. Taiwan) and a glass
electrode (InLab 439, METTLER TOLEDO, Switzerland)
controlling acid or base dosing. Solvent dosage was deter-
mined at the end of each test by adding solvent back to the
vessel to the liquid level marked previously, and the
amount added was determined. For solvent dosages
between 1 and 2 g, the error of measurement is less than
1.3%.
53
Pressure released valve
Air packet
Compressed air
Level marked
Samples taken from reactor were filtered immediately
under vacuum through a 1.2 lm GF/C glass microfiber fil-
ter paper (Whatman, Middlesex, UK) and then 0.45 lm
cellulose acetate filter paper (Advantec MFS, Pleasanton,
USA). As indicated in Table 1, membrane filtration is quite
effective for separating solvent from aqueous solution, with
more than 96% of COD were removed by a 1.2 lm filter
paper. Additional filtration treatment through 0.45 lm fil-
ter paper has insignificant impact on COD removal. Metal
removal with membrane filtration shows the same trend as
for COD removal, indicating that filtration with 1.2 lm
filter paper is quite effective to separate Cd(II) solubilized
in solvent phase from those in aqueous phase.
Images of MSAB and emulsified oil droplets were taken
by a photomicrography digitize integrate system (EBM-
634, M&T Optics Co. Ltd. Taiwan), and the size of MSAB
and emulsified oil droplets were determined using Multi-
Cam EZ software. Concentration of Cd(II) was analyzed
by a flame atomic absorption spectrometry (Hitachi
Z6100, Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). Cr(VI) was analyzed color-
imetrically according to the standard method 3500B
(APHA, 1998). COD was analyzed followed the standard
method 5520C (APHA, 1998).
Table 1
COD and Cd(II) removal efficiencies after vacuum filtration with 1.2 and
0.45 lm filter papers for treated samples taken from test with 500 ml of
Cd(II) at initial concentration of 100 mg l1 treated with 0.39 g of
D2EHPA
Samples COD Cd(II)
Before filtration 8820 ± 300 100 ± 3
Vacuum filtration (1.2 lm) 348 ± 28 (96%) 18 ± 1.5 (82%)
Vacuum filtration (0.45 lm) 328 ± 17 (96%) 18 ± 0.8 (82%)
D2EHPA/kerosene = 1:10, pH 6. Reaction time = 5 min. Triplicate sam-
ples were taken and analyzed with one standard deviation from the mean
reported.
54 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58

3. Results and discussion
3.1. Visual inspection
Photomicrography images for both MSAB and emulsi-
fied solvent droplets were taken and compared. Emulsified
solvent droplets were prepared with known amount of sol-
vent in DI water by circulating the solution with two cen-
trifugal pumps operated at very high flowrate (0.9 l s1)
for at least 30 min. Fig. 2a–c shows the photomicrography
image of MSAB generated by the CASX process under var-
ious pressures, revealing that the diameters of bubbles are
in the ranges of 5–50 lm and increase with decreasing sat-
uration pressure. The result is similar to that reported by
Vlyssides et al. (2004) who indicated that mean diameters
of air bubbles are on the ranges of 5–20 lm based on num-
ber of bubbles generated in dissolved air flotation, and
increase with decreasing water oversaturation pressure.
Fig. 2d is microphotographic image of the emulsified sol-
vent droplets, showing that most of droplets are in the
range of 3 lm in diameter and much smaller than those
generated by CASX. The diameters of emulsified solvent
droplets are in the ranges reported by others (Marchese
et al., 2000; Zhao et al., 2005; Li et al., 2006).

Fig. 2. Microphotographic image of MSAB generated by the CASX process under 100, 300, and 500 kPa (a–c) and emulsified solvent droplets (d).
D2EHPA/kerosene = 1:10. Scale of 50 lm is shown in the lower right-hand corner.

Fig. 3. Comparison of flotation properties of MSAB generated at various compression pressures (left: 100 kPa, middle: 300 kPa, right: 500 kPa) under
quiescent condition for various times, (a) right after samples prepared, (b) 30 min, and (c) 5 h. D2EHPA/kerosene = 1:10.
 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58 55

Visual comparison of flotation properties of MSAB and
emulsified solvent droplets under quiescent condition (pic-
tures not shown) indicated that right after the samples were
prepared and filled in the bottles, MSAB started floating to
the top. After 16 h, almost all of MSAB float to the top,
and the solution is clear. On the other hand, sample con-
taining emulsified solvent droplets are still turbid even after
1.5 d. The result is expected considered that the size of sol-
vent droplets is much smaller than that of MSAB and the
former has higher density than the latter. Density of MSAB
can be calculated when solubility of air in solvent is deter-
mined. By displacement of water collection process, it is
found that around 0.16 ml air dissolved per g of solvent
(D2EHPA/kerosene ratio of 1:10) under pressure of
500 kPa. The calculated density of MSAB is around
0.719 g cm3, and is only 88% of that for emulsified solvent
droplets.
Fig. 3a–c is visual comparison of flotation properties of
MSAB generated at different saturation pressures under
removal of Cd(II) is the result of hydronium ions released
through ion exchange reaction, resulting in pH decreases
(from pH of 7 initially to around 3.0), and will be discussed
next. On the other hand, more than 99% of Cr(VI) was
removed with 3.6 g of Aliquat 336 dosed at reaction time
of less than 10 s, reinforcing that CASX process can
remove contaminants within seconds through abundant
surface area of MSAB created by CASX.
3.3. Effect of equilibrium pH
Following reaction shows extraction of metal with
D2EHPA dissolved in kerosene, indicating that hydronium
ions will be released through ion exchange reaction, and
the extraction is highly pH dependent (Juang and Ju,
100
90 a

Removal efficiency (%)

quiescent condition for various times, indicating that the 80
lower the generation pressure the easier for the solution 70
to clear. Right after the sample prepared, sample prepared 60
at 100 kPa was transparent. On the other hand, sample pre- 50 pH7
40 pH6
pared under pressure of 500 kPa was still turbid after 5 h.
30 pH5
The result is consistent to the observation in Fig. 2a–c pH4
20
where the diameters of bubbles increase with decreasing 10 w/o pH adjustment
compression pressure. 0
100
90 b
3.2. Effect of reaction time
Removal efficiency (%)

80
70
After released of pressurized solvent, aqueous phase was 60
1:1
allowed to react with MSAB for pre-determined time under 50 1:10
gentle aeration (0.6 l min1). Fig. 4 shows both Cd(II) and 40
Cr(VI) removal efficiencies as a function of aeration time, 1:30
30
revealing that reaction reached equilibrium within a few 20 1:40
seconds. The removal efficiency of Cd(II) reaches plateau 10
value of 55% right after solvent was added. Incomplete 0
100
90 c
Removal efficiency (%)

80
100 70
90 60
Removal efficiency (%)

80 50 100 kPa
70 40 200 kPa
60 30 300 kPa
50 Cr 20 500 kPa
10
40 Cd
0
30 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.81.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
20 D2EHPA (g)
10
Fig. 5. (a) Cd removal efficiency as a function of extractant dosages for
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 various final pHs. Initial Cd concentration = 50 mg l1, reaction time of
Time (s) 5 min, D2EHPA/kerosene ratio = 1:10 (w/w). (b) Cd(II) removal effi-
ciency as a function of D2EHPA dosages for various D2EHPA/kerosene
Fig. 4. Cd(II) and Cr(VI) removal efficiencies as a function of reaction (w/w) ratios. Initial Cd2+ and volume are 50 mg l1 and 500 ml,
times. pH was not adjusted. Wastewater volume = 500 ml, initial Cd(II) respectively. Equilibrium pH of 6.0 and reaction time of 5 min. (c) Cd(II)
concentration = 50 mg l1, pH 7, D2EHPA/kerosene ratio = 1:10 (w/w), removal efficiency as a function of D2EHPA dosages for various
D2EHPA dose = 1.5 g, initial Cr(VI) concentration = 645 mg l1, pH compression pressure. Initial Cd2+ and volume are 100 mg l1 and
1.96, Aliquat 336/kerosene ratio = 5:1 (w/w), and Aliquat 336 500 ml, respectively. D2EHPA/kerosene ratio = 1:10 (w/w). Equilibrium
dose = 3.6 g. pH of 6.0 and reaction time of 5 min.
56 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58
2001; Leon and Guzman, 2005; He et al., 2006; Pereira
et al., 2007).
Cd2þ þ
ðaqÞ þ 2ðRHÞ2ðorgÞ () CdR2 ðRHÞ2ðorgÞ þ 2HðaqÞ ð4Þ
where (RH)2(org) represents the existing of D2EHPA di-
mers and its involvement in the extraction of Cd(II).
Fig. 5a shows the effect of equilibrium pH on metal
removal under fixed aeration time of 5 min. As indicated
in the previous section, equilibrium can be reached within
seconds in CASX. Therefore, aeration time of 5 min will
not affect the interpretation of experimental result and will
provide enough time for adjusting reaction pH to desired
value. As indicated in Fig. 5a, Cd(II) removal efficiency
increases with increasing D2EHPA dosage and equilibrium
pH, and is independent of pH at equilibrium pHs of higher
than 5.
3.4. Effect of extractant/kerosene ratio
Effect of D2EHPA/kerosene ratio on Cd(II) removal
efficiency was studied with equilibrium pH of 6.0 and reac-
tion time of 5 min. Concentration of Cd(II) and volume of
the synthetic wastewater are 50 mg l1 and 500 ml, respec-
tively. As indicated in Fig. 5b, Cd(II) removal efficiency is
independent of D2EHPA/kerosene ratio and mainly
depends on D2EHPA dosage. The result signifies that
A/S ratio can be increased by increasing D2EHPA/kero-
sene ratio. For example, to completely remove all of Cd(II)
from this particular synthetic wastewater, D2EHPA of
0.35 g will be needed. With D2EHPA/kerosene ratio of
1:1, the amount of solvent added will be 0.70 g, corre-
sponding to A/S ratio of around 714. If D2EHPA/kero-
sene ratio of 5:1 was used, A/S ratio of higher than 1190
could be achieved.
With assumption of average diameter of 20 lm for
MSAB and solubility of air in solvent of 0.16 ml g1, the
thickness of solvent-coated layer of 5.16 lm was calculated.
With these information and reaction time of 5 s, molar
metal flux for CASX for removing 500 ml of wastewater
containing 50 mg l1 of Cd(II) can be calculated. As shown
in Table 2, dependent of D2EHPA/kerosene ratio molar
metal flux for CASX is in the order of 104–105 which
is much higher than SLM process and is comparable to
that of AASX process.
Table 2
Molar metal flux calculated as function of D2EHPA/kerosene ratio for
CASX with assumption that average diameter of 20 lm for MSAB,
thickness of 5.16 lm for solvent-coated layer, and reaction time of 5 s
D2EHPA/kerosene Solvent Area provided Flux
ratio added (g) (m2) (mol m2 s1)
5:1 0.42 0.1612 2.76 · 104
1:1 0.7 0.2783 1.60 · 104
1:10 4.07 1.6581 2.68 · 105
1:30 10.85 4.4756 9.94 · 106
1:40 14.35 5.8463 7.61 · 106
100 250
90
Removal efficiency (%)
80 1:10 200
Aqueous/solvent ratio
70 1:1
60 5:1 150
50
40 100
30
20 50
10
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Aliquat 336 (g)
Fig. 6. Cr(VI) removal efficiency as a function of extractant with various
ratios of Aliquat 336/kerosene for treating spent plating wastewater.
Extraction time of 1 min. Initial Cr(VI) concentration = 645 mg l1, pH
1.96, wastewater volume of 500 ml, open and filled symbols are removal
efficiency and A/S ratio, respectively. Diamond, triangle, and square are
for Aliquat 336/kerosene of 1:10, 1:1, and 5:1, respectively.
Fig. 6 shows the Cr(VI) removal efficiency and A/S ratio
as a function of Aliquat 336 dosage under various Aliquat
336/kerosene ratios. As in the case of Cd(II) removal, Ali-
quat 336/kerosene ratio did not show any impact on the
Cr(VI) removal efficiency (see open symbols in Fig. 6).
However, increasing Aliquat 336/kerosene ratio will
increase A/S ratio (see filled symbols in Fig. 6). For treat-
ment of the electroplating wastewater with Aliquat 336/
kerosene ratio of 5:1, A/S ratio of higher than 115 can be
achieved for completed Cr(VI) removal, corresponding to
more than 75 g l1 of Cr(VI) in the solvent phase which
makes the recovery and reuse of Cr(VI) economical feasible
(Galan et al., 2006).
3.5. Effect of compression pressure
Fig. 5c shows the effect of compression pressure on the
Cd(II) removal efficiency for various D2EHPA dosages.
Although the mean size of MSAB is bigger for lower com-
pression pressure, the removal efficiency is independent of
the compression pressures investigated. Based on the
removal efficiency shown in Fig. 5c and the flotation prop-
erties of MSAB shown in Fig. 3, operating CASX process
for metal removal at lower compression pressure is
recommended.
3.6. Comparison of CASX and traditional liquid–liquid
extraction
Cd(II) removal by CASX and a traditional liquid–liquid
extraction with same amount of solvent was compared.
A 500 ml wastewater containing 50 mg l1 of Cd(II) and
2 g of solvent with D2EHPA/kerosene of 1:1, correspond-
ing to A/S ratio of 250, were mixed with a standard jar-test
apparatus under mixing speed of 100 and 200 rpm. As indi-
cated in Fig. 7, it took 1 h for system with mixing speed of
 C.-W. Li et al. / Chemosphere 71 (2008) 51–58
100
90
Removal efficiency (%)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0 solvent extraction. Can. Metall. Quart. 42, 277–280.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Reaction time (min)
Fig. 7. Comparison of Cd removal efficiency as a function of reaction time
for CASX and conventional liquid–liquid extraction system. Initial Cd
concentration = 50 mg l1, D2EHPA = 1 g, volume of wastewater =
500 ml, fixed pH 6, D2EHPA/kerosene = 1:1.
200 rpm to reach equilibrium. It should be noted that sol-
vent in system mixed at 200 rpm was emulsified at the end
of the test. On the other hand, system mixed at 100 rpm did
not reach equilibrium at the end of test (2 h). Clearly, the
time required for traditional liquid–liquid extraction is
much longer than that for CASX which reaches equilib-
rium within few seconds.
4. Conclusions
Compressed air-assisted solvent extraction (CASX) was
employed to remove Cd(II) and Cr(VI) from synthetic
wastewater and electroplating wastewater, respectively.
Upon released of air-oversaturated solvent, CASX process
generates enormous amount of micro-sized air bubbles
coated with solvent, making metal removal extremely effi-
cient and fast. MSAB have much larger size and lower den-
sity than emulsified solvent droplets, making separation of
former from aqueous solution is much easier than that of
latter.
Due to the abundant surface area created by MSAB,
CASX process can achieve contaminant removal within sec-
onds and high A/S ratio. Complete removal of Cr(VI) from
acidic electroplating wastewater was achieved under A/S
ratio of 115 and extraction time of less than 10 s. When syn-
thetic wastewater containing Cd(II) of 50 mg l1 was trea-
ted, A/S ratios of higher than 714 could be achieved.
Acknowledgement
Support of this work by the National Science Council
(Taiwan) under Grant Nos. NSC 95-2221-E-032-024 and
96-2221-E-032-010-MY3 is gratefully acknowledged.
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