Chemical Active Liquid Membranes in Inorganic Supports for Metal Ion Separations

Disposal of hazardous ions in the aqueous streams is a significant industrial waste problem.. Waste streams from electronics, electroplating, and photographic industries contain metal ions such as copper, nickel, zinc, chromium(IV), cadmium, aluminum, silver, and gold, amongst others in various aqueous solutions such as sulfates, chlorides, fluorocarbons, and cyanides. Typical plating solutions having similar compositions are listed in Table 1. Spent process streams in catalyst manufacturing facilities also contain precious metals such as Ag, Pt, and Pd. Developing an effective recovery process of these metal ions for reuse is important.