Removal of low concentration ibuprofen using green diluent and novel formulated supported ionic liquid membrane

Removal of pharmaceutical micropollutants is critical to reduce detrimental contaminants found in the environment. The current study focuses on developing a new formulation of supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) for removing low concentration of ibuprofen (IBP) using green diluent and ionic liquid. Parameters such as solid support properties, variation of diluents, type of carrier and carrier concentration are investigated. The results demonstrate that liquid carrier consisted of sunflower oil (SFO) and Aliquat 336 successfully impregnated on the PVDF support via FTIR and SEM analysis. Liquid carrier loss from the PVDF support is less than 1% by impregnating green diluents consisting of SFO. 18PVDF-DMAC/300 is selected owing to its asymmetric fingerlike and spongy structure with porosity, mean pore diameter, contact angle and thickness of (82.2 & PLUSMN; 0.7) %, (0.19 & PLUSMN; 0.01) & mu;m, (89.4 & PLUSMN; 0.2)degrees and (90.3 & PLUSMN; 0.8) & mu;m, respectively. Under 72-hour operation, a maximum extraction and stripping efficiency are obtained at 93% and 87% respectively, indicating a stable SILM process. Results obtained suggest that the newly formulated SILM is advantageous and may be used to extract low concentrations of IBP from the feed phase.

Automated summary

The study developed a new formulation of supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) for the removal of low concentration ibuprofen (IBP) using green diluent and ionic liquid. The results showed that the liquid carrier consisting of sunflower oil (SFO) and Aliquat 336 successfully impregnated on the PVDF support. The newly formulated SILM demonstrated high extraction and stripping efficiency, making it advantageous for extracting low concentrations of IBP from the feed phase.