Chromium(VI) removal by polyvinylchloride (PVC)/Aliquat-336 polymeric inclusion membranes in a multiframe flat sheet membrane mode

A new multiframe flat sheet membrane contactor module containing several flat membranes was designed and implemented. Each frame contains a chamber (central hole) in which the feed and the receiving phases are put in contact with polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/Aliquat-336 polymeric flat sheet membranes for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solutions (feed phase). To evaluate the eciency of the system, the experimental design methodology was used to analyze the eect of temperature (T, C), PVC/Aliquat-336 ratio, and Cr (VI) concentration in the feed phase and the concentration of sodium chloride (NaOH-NaCl) in the receiving phase. Two representative mathematical models of the two responses (extraction and back-extraction) were respectively obtained. A good correlation between the experimental results and those predicted (RS 2 = 97.77 and RR2 = 97.87) was achieved, allowing the optimization of the dierent factors selected for each response, separately. The proposed system showed a good separation performance, leading to Cr(VI) extractions up to 93% when working at the optimized operating conditions.