Carrier-facilitated liquid membrane extraction of penicillin G from aqueous streams

Kinetics and mechanism for the carrier-facilitated transport of penicillin G from aqueous solutions through a supported liquid membrane containing Amberlite LA-2 were investigated. The strip phase was either phosphate buffer or sodium carbonate solution. Experiments were performed as a function of the pH, the concentrations of penicillin G in the feed phase and of amine in the membrane phase. A transport model was proposed considering aqueous film diffusion, interfacial chemical reaction, and membrane diffusion. The calculated rates were found to agree with the measured ones (average standard error, 12%). Under the conditions investigated (feed pH 5.02-7.83, penicillin G concentration 10-500 mol/m³, amine concentration 50-1000 mol/m³), the present transport process was shown to be governed by combined interfacial chemical reaction and membrane diffusion.