Abstract
In this article, we review recent advances in liquid membrane technology. We focus on the following three liquid membrane topics: biological application, an environmentally benign system and the use of microfluidic devices. Biocatalysis often shows an extremely high selectivity to a target compound. Therefore, a liquid membrane containing an enzyme can be utilized as a chiral separation tool for an optically active compound. To improve the liquid membrane stability, in the second topic, a novel "green" solvent ionic liquid is introduced in a supported liquid membrane. Since ionic liquids have extremely low vapor pressures, the liquid membrane permits stable operation for a long time. When a target molecule is expensive, a down sizing system is required for the liquid membrane operation. In the third topic, a stable three-phase flow was obtained using a microfluidic device. In the microfluidic operation, the center organic phase functions as a liquid membrane. In a micro-scale liquid membrane operation, permeation of rare earth metals through the membrane phase was achieved.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 11-26 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Solvent Extraction Research and Development |
| Volume | 12 |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Chemistry(all)
- Chemical Engineering(all)