Selective Separation of Silver(I) Ion Through a Bulk Liquid Membrane Containing 1,1′-(1,3-Phenylene)bis(3-allylthiourea) as Carrier

The competitive bulk liquid membrane transport of six metal cations from an aqueous source phase (SP) containing Ag+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ through an organic membrane phase (MP) facilitated by 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene)bis(3-allylthiourea) as a carrier into an aqueous receiving phase (RP) was studied and compared. Fluxes and selectivities for competitive metal cation transport have been determined in a variety of source solution pH and membrane solvent types. The obtained results showed that the carrier is selective for Ag+ cation. The effect of different experimental conditions that affect the transport efficiency were studied and optimized. In the optimum condition, the transport of a 5 x 10(-4) mol L-1 solution of Ag+ cations was observed 92.3 +/- 5.3% after 4 h in the presence of equimolar concentrations of other metal cations. A possible application of this carrier system and transport process for separation and recovery of Ag+ cation from real samples has also been examined.