Extraction of organic acids using a supported liquid membrane.

Liquid membranes usually consist of an extracting agent (carrier) in an organic solvent which separates "feed" and "stripping" phases containing aqueous solutions of the solute of interest and a stripping agent, respectively. In supported liquid membranes (SLMs) the membrane solution is immobilised into a thin solid microporous support, between the feed and stripping phases where transport is facilitated by a carrier. The solute in the feed phase is transferred to the interface with the membrane phase where it forms a complex with the carrier. The complex then diffuses across the membrane to the interface with the stripping phase where the solute is removed in an irreversible reaction with the stripping agent to form a soluble product.