Green emulsion liquid membrane for desalination: Prototype and techno-economic evaluation

Existence on Earth is presently in jeopardy due to a lack of sufficient water. Liquid membranes (LMs) have acquired widespread recognition as a viable separation technique. The current research seeks to advance desalination significantly using edible oils as a green emulsion liquid membrane (GELM) technique. The initial concentration (Ci), the treatment ratio (TR), which is the ratio of the emulsion to the doner phase (DP), the type of LM, the amount of sequestering agent (SA), and the power of ultrasonication (US) were all investigated as possible impacts on the desalination process. The experiments led to the following conclusions: the presence of SA in the receptor phase (RP) is essential for salt sequestration; the US yields a stable emulsion with a high salt extraction percentage. This study demonstrated the simplicity and efficacy of desalinating simulated seawater using the GELM approach with edible oils, which resulted in 99.9 % desalination without a mobile carrier or an ordinary emulsifier. Corn oil, when used as LM, has enhanced extraction capabilities. The preferred TR was 1:10, the preferred percentage of soluble starch (SS) as an emulsifier and SA was 1 %, the optimum Ci was 25 g l- 1, and the optimum US power was 350 W. A techno-economic assessment for desalination by GELM reveals that the production cost is $1.02/m3.