Development of new surfactant for liquid surfactant membrane process

To obtain more stable W/O emulsion for liquid surfactant membrane technique, a series of glutamic acid dialkyl esters and dialkyl type quaternary ammonium salts as new surfactants in place of Span 80 and polyamine were synthesized. The adsorption equilibria between aqueous solution and organic solution containing the synthesized surfactants were elucidated and the stability of liquid surfactant membrane made of these surfactants was examined in a stirred tank. A series of synthesized surfactants having two long alkyl chains in hydrophobic site gave more stable emulsion at a lower concentration compared with Span 80 and polyamine. Among them, glutamic acid dioleyl ester formed the most stable emulsion.