(636a) Supported Liquid Membranes with Strip Dispersion for Antibiotic Recovery

This presentation covers facilitated-transport supported liquid membranes (SLMs) with strip dispersion for the extraction and recovery of antibiotics from aqueous solutions.  The membrane stability has been ensured by a modified SLM with strip dispersion, where the aqueous strip solution is dispersed in the organic membrane solution.  With the SLM, Cephalexin has been extracted and concentrated significantly with a very high recovery; typical results have shown > 99% extraction and recovery rates of 96 – 98%.  A mass transfer analysis has shown that the resistance from the extraction reaction is dominant.  Initial results from a 4-component feed mixture derived from its enzymatic synthesis have shown selective Cephalexin recovery possible.  This allows Cephalexin recovery from the mixture in conjunction with complexation without enzyme deactivation, which commonly occurs when complexation is conducted in enzymatic reaction mixtures.  FTIR shows that the recovered Cephalexin is close to the pure Cephalexin.