(186am) Advanced Removal / Extraction of the Hydrocarbons by Emulsion Liquid Membrane Enhanced by Nanoparticles

The removal/extraction of the hydrocarbons from industrial wastewater and water has been enhanced by Emulsion Liquid Membrane (ELM) combined with nanoparticles. The ELM consists of organic membrane phase (O) that contains tiny drops of the stripping aqueous (internal) phase (W1) dispersed in the wastewater (external) phase (W2) where the pollutants transfer through phase (O) from phase (W2) to phase (W1) to react with the stripping agent. The invention is the use of the nanoparticles in the organic phase (O) which significantly enhances the removal at a shorter time and enhance the emulsion stability. Magnetic nanoparticles Fe2O3 have been selected in order to recover and recycle them by applying a magnetic field at the completion of the separation. This is needed when the process is scaled up and implemented industrially. Furthermore, collecting the magnetic nanoparticles at the end will enhance the step of demulsifying.

Adding 0.1% (W/W) of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles in organic phase (O) yields enhanced removal of 98.05% at 6 min. Also nanoparticles with larger size nanoparticles can be used which add more economic value to the invention for the industrial development of this new wastewater/water treatment process. Enhancing the separation of hydrocarbons by combining magnetic nanoparticles for emulsion liquid membrane is an advance emerging technology that finds wide commercial applications.