Separation procedure using the droplets of oil-in-water Pickering emulsions as medium

The droplets of an oil-in-water Pickering emulsion stabilized by silica particles were applied as a medium to separate methyl violet from an aqueous solution. Both of intermittent and continuous separation operations worked. The behavior of the packing column using the droplets of Pickering emulsions as fillers was similar to that of the normal packing column using solid adsorbents. The polarity of the oil phase of the Pickering emulsions had critical influence on the efficiency of the continuous separation procedure. The procedure reported here provides a new promising separation route. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.