ABSTRACT
Separation science plays a pivotal role in many hydrometallurgical processes, including industrial wastewater treatment [1-7]. Out of the various separation techniques, solvent extraction, ion exchange, and precipitation are the workhorse for various industrial applications. At the same time, there is a growing interest in membrane-based separation methods that are considered environmentally benign [7-10]. A combination of membrane separation and solvent extraction techniques, known as the liquid membrane (LM) technique, has drawn considerable attention for the separation scientists and technologists. LM-based separation methods are associated
with several advantages over conventional solvent extraction such as simultaneous extraction and stripping, generation of low volume of volatile organic carbons (VOCs), low operating cost, and most importantly high selectivity. The use of LMs containing target-selective carriers has been proposed as an alternative to solvent extraction for selective separation and concentration of metal ions from dilute aqueous solutions. LM technique has been successfully employed in the industrial, biomedical, and analytical elds as well as in biogas separation and water treatment [11-18]. Many research groups have been using LM technique for the selective removal of radiotoxic elements from radioactive waste solutions [19-24].
