Emulsion Liquid Membrane Screening for Ibuprofen Removal from Aqueous Solution

Ibuprofen (IBP) has become increasingly widespread in our environment, posing a major problem for treatment by its high occurrence in low concentrations. Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) technology has emerged as an alternative solution for removing low concentration pollutants from contaminated sources. This study screened ELM formulations for the removal of IBP from an aqueous solution. Emulsion screening was conducted using a series of reactants, including petroleumbased diluent, green diluent, and acidic/alkaline stripping agent. The ELM system, which included hexane (diluent), 0.1 M sodium carbonate, Na2CO3 (stripping agent), 2 wt% Aliquat 336 (carrier) and 4 wt% Span 80 (surfactant), achieved the highest IBP extraction efficiency of 97%.