Abstract

Heavy metal ions in aqueous and acidic solutions pose serious threats to ecosystems. Their effective removal is crucial, and emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) technology offers a promising solution. This review delves into ELM's principles, mechanisms, components, and performance indicators including stability for extracting heavy metals from acidic solutions including phosphoric acid., ELM's stability issues, such as internal phase coalescence, membrane leakage, and swelling, limit its efficiency. Thus, this review paper discusses previous research that analyzed ELM stability and heavy metal extraction efficiency from these acidic solutions. Furthermore, it assesses other techniques like Emulsion Ionic Liquid Membrane (EILM) and Pickering Emulsion Liquid Membrane (PELM). These are proposed solutions for the stability challenges faced by conventional ELM. Comparing such techniques with conventional ELM, provides insight on their potential in recovering heavy metals. This review brings the attention for the needs for developing optimized ELM separation processes. It underscores the significance of ELM in extracting heavy metals and mitigating their ecological impacts. The findings and advancements discussed here highlight the potential for enhancing ELM's stability and effectiveness, contributing to the sustainable management of heavy metal contamination in aqueous and acidic environments.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Acidic solutions recovery; ELM; Emulsion liquid membrane technique; Emulsion stability; Heavy metals recovery; Phosphoric acid recovery

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1735-2630; 1735-1472

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2025 Springer, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2025

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