Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
Master of Technology: Chemical Engineering
in the Faculty of Engineering
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology
2011 / Treatment of waste material from mining and mineral processing is gaining increasing
importance as a result of the increasing demand for high purity products and environmental
concerns. Supported liquid membranes (SLMs) have been proposed as a new technology
for the selective removal of metal ions from a solution. This technology can be described as
the simultaneous extraction and stripping operation, combined in a continuous single process
unit.
Theoretically, the rate of mass transfer through SLM systems could be controlled by three
resistances, namely:
· Resistance through the feed-side
· Resistance through the strip-side laminar layers; and
· Diffusion through the membrane.
It has been reported that transport resistance in the feed-side laminar layer is controlling.
(Srisurichan et al, 2005:186).
The objective of this research was to extract copper ions in a TSLM system, evaluate the
effect of the feed characteristics on the feed-side laminar layer and determine a relationship
between the applicable dimensionless numbers, i.e. Sherwood, Schmidt and Reynolds
numbers.
A Counter-current, double pipe Perspex bench-scale reactor, consisting of a single
hydrophobic PVDF tubular membrane mounted vertically within, was used for the test work.
The membrane was impregnated with LIX 984N-C and became the support for this organic
transport medium. Dilute Copper solution passed through the centre pipe and sulphuric acid,
as a strippant, passed through the shell side.
In this test work, Copper was successfully transported from the feed-side to the strip-side
and through repetitive results; a relationship between dimensionless numbers was achieved.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/866 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Makaka, Siphokazi |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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