Selective Separation of Toluene from n‐Heptane via Emulsion Liquid Membranes Containing Substituted Cyclodextrins as Carrier

Abstract

The selective separation of toluene from n‐heptane is investigated using unsubstituted α‐cyclodextrin (αCD), β‐cyclodextrin (βCD) and also with two substituted CDs as a carrier in oil/water/oil‐type emulsion liquid membranes. The separation factor for toluene to n‐heptane is evaluated from the extraction of an equimolar mixture of toluene and n‐heptane. βCD shows the highest selectivity followed by αCD, hydroxypropyl‐αCD and hydroxypropyl‐βCD. The separation performances, represented by the permeation rate and separation factor, are analyzed systematically by varying the operating parameters: contact time, concentration of carriers, volume fraction of the membrane phase, and the relative amount of solvent. In this paper the effects of carriers and interfacial tension on dispersed phase drop size, internal droplets size, and size distribution are also systematically investigated.

Keywords:

• Emulsion liquid membrane
• toluene extraction
• cyclodextrin inclusion complex
• dispersed drop size
• internal droplets size distribution

Acknowledgement

Authors wish to acknowledge the Alexander von Humboldt‐Stiftung, Germany, for financial support.