Facilitated transport of Hg(II) through novel activated composite membranes

The results presented in this work deal with the prime application of activated composite membranes (ACMs) for the transport of Hg(II) ions in a continuous extraction-re-extraction system using di-(2-ethylhexyl) dithiophosphoric acid (DTPA) as carrier. The effects of variables such as the pH, the nature of the acid and the concentration of the casting solutions on the transport of Hg(II) are also investigated. When the ACM was prepared with a 0.5 M DTPA solution and when the feed solution contained 2.5×10-4 M Hg(II) in 0.1 M HCl, the amount of mercury extracted was greater than 76%. The re-extracted mercury was subsequently recovered by means of a stripping phase comprising 0.3 M thiourea solution in 2 M H2SO4, yielding 54% of the initial amount of mercury after transport had taken place for 180 min. © Springer-Verlag 2004.