Removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions by polymer inclusion membranes

The transport through polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) was found as the effective and selective method of chromium(VI) anions removal from chloride acidic aqueous solutions. The optimal PIMs content was as follows: 41 wt% of cellulose triacetate as the support, 23 wt% of tri-n-octylamine as the ionic carrier, and 36 wt% of o-nitrophenyl pentyl ether as the plasticizer. The results obtained show a linear decrease of permeability coefficient and initial flux values with source phase pH increase. Also linear decrease of initial flux in log–log scale with chromium(VI) concentration increase was observed. Value of slope of this relationship was found to be 0.96 which indicates a first order of chromium(VI) reaction with tri-n-octylamine at membrane/aqueous source interface. Transport of chromium(VI) through PIMs reduces the concentration of chromium(VI) in source aqueous phase from 1.0 to 0.0028 ppm, which is below permissible limit in drinking water in Poland. Competitive transport of chromium(VI), cadmium(II), zinc(II), and iron(III) from acidic aqueous solution across PIMs was found to be efficient for chromium(VI) (99%), and cadmium(II) (99%).