Journal of Materials Science, Vol.51, No.13, 6370-6378, 2016
Recyclable magnetic-Pickering emulsion liquid membrane for extracting phenol compounds from wastewater
A Pickering emulsion liquid membrane (PELM) stabilized by oleic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles has been prepared and used to extract phenolic compound from wastewater. Compared to traditional emulsion liquid membrane (ELM), nano-Fe3O4 particle-stabilized PELM can be easily demulsified after extraction under magnetic field, which could greatly improve the reutilization of oil phase and reduce the energy consumption of ELM operation. Practically, our PELM contains tri-n-butyl phosphate as a carrier, corn oil as a liquid membrane, and sodium hydroxide as a stripping agent. The stability of Pickering emulsion was investigated under different homogenization speeds and characterized by centrifugal stability method. Reutilization of emulsifier and oil phase exhibited comparable extraction efficiency after three cycles of remediation, and no significant change on the particle property was observed.