Roles of metal ion complexation and membrane permeability in the metal flux through lipophilic membranes. Labile complexes at permeation liquid membranes

The various physicochemical factors that influence the flux of carrier-transported metal ions through permeation liquid membranes (PLM) are studied systematically. Understanding PLM behavior is important (i) to optimize the application of PLM as metal speciation sensors in environmental media and (ii) because PLM may serve as bioanalogical devices that help to elucidate the environmental physicochemical processes occurring at the surface of biological membranes. Diffusion of free and complexed metal ions in solution, as well as diffusion of the metal carrier complex in the membrane, is considered. The respective roles of diffusion layer thickness, ligand concentration, complex stability, carrier concentration, and membrane thickness are studied experimentally in detail and compared with theory, using various labile complexes, namely, Pb(II)-diglycolate, Cu(II)-diglycolate, and Cu(II)-N-(2-carboxyphenyl)glycine. Conditions where either membrane diffusion or solution diffusion is rate limiting are clearly discriminated. It is shown in particular, that, by tuning the carrier concentration or membrane thickness, either the free metal ion concentration or the total labile metal species are measured. PLM can thus be used to determine whether models based on the free ion activity in solution (such as BLM or FIAM models) are applicable to metal uptake by microorganisms in a real natural medium.     

Coupling fiber optics to a permeation liquid membrane for heavy metal sensor development

We present the first sensing system for metal ions based on the combination of separation/preconcentration by a permeation liquid membrane (PLM) and fluorescence detection with an optical fiber. As a model, a system for the detection of Cu(II) ions was developed. The wall of a polypropylene hollow fiber serves as support for the permeable liquid membrane. The lumen of the fiber contains the strip solution in which Cu(II) is accumulated. Calcein, a fluorochromic dye, acts as stripping agent and at the same time as metal indicator. The quenching of the calcein fluorescence upon metal accumulation in the strip phase is detected with a multimode optical fiber, which is incorporated into the lumen. Fluorescence is excited with a blue LED and detected with a photon counter. Taking advantage of the high selectivity and sensitivity of PLM preconcentration, a detection limit for Cu(II) of approximately 50 nM was achieved. Among five tested heavy metal ions, Pb(II) was the only major interfering species. The incorporation of small silica optical fibers into the polypropylene capillary allows for real-time monitoring of the Cu(II) accumulation process.     

Solid-phase extraction of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions from environmental samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS)

A new method using a column packed with Amberlite XAD-2010 resin as a solid-phase extractant has been developed for the multi-element preconcentration of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) ions based on their complex formation with the sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (Na-DDTC) prior to flame atomic absorption spectrometric (FAAS) determinations. Metal complexes sorbed on the resin were eluted by 1 mol L(-1) HNO3 in acetone. Effects of the analytical conditions over the preconcentration yields of the metal ions, such as pH, quantity of Na-DDTC, eluent type, sample volume and flow rate, foreign ions etc. have been investigated. The limits of detection (LOD) of the analytes were found in the range 0.08-0.26 microg L(-1). The method was validated by analyzing three certified reference materials. The method has been applied for the determination of trace elements in some environmental samples.     

Toxic metal ion separation by cellulose acetate/sulfonated poly(ether imide) blend membranes: effect of polymer composition and additive

Toxic heavy metal ion removal from industrial effluents are gaining increased visibility owing to environmental concern and saving precious materials. In this work, an attempt has been made to remove the valuable metal ions using modified ultrafiltration (UF) blend membranes based on cellulose acetate (CA) and sulfonated poly(ether imide) (SPEI) were prepared in the presence and absence of additive, poly(ethylene glycol) 600 (PEG600) in various compositions. Prepared membranes were characterized in terms of pure water flux (PWF), water content and membrane hydraulic resistance. High flux UF membranes were obtained in the range of 15-25 wt% SPEI and 2.5-10 wt% PEG600 in the polymer blend. The molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the blend membranes were determined using protein separation studies found to vary from 20 to greater than 69 kDa. Surface morphology of the blend membranes were analysed with scanning electron microscopy. Studies were carried out to find the rejection and permeate flux of metal ions such as Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) using polyethyleneimine as the chelating ligand. On increasing the composition of SPEI and PEG600, the rejection of metal ions is decreasing while the permeate flux has an increasing trend. These effects are due to the increased pore formation in the CA/SPEI blend membranes because of the hydrophilic SPEI and polymeric additive PEG600. In general, it was found that CA/SPEI blend membranes displayed higher permeate flux and lower rejection compared to pure CA membranes. The extent of separation of metal ions depends on the affinity of metal ions to polyethyleneimine to form macromolecular complexes and the stability of the formed complexes.     

Permeation liquid membrane metal transport: studies of complex stoichiometries and reactions in Cu(II) extraction with the mixture 22DD-laurate in toluene/phenylhexane

The role of lauric acid (LAH) in the transport of copper(II) through a permeation liquid membrane (PLM) comprising 1,10-didecyldiaza-18-crown-6 (22DD) and lauric acid (ratio 1:1) in 1:1 v/v toluene/phenylhexane has been investigated by determining the stoichiometry of metal extraction and of the metal complex formed in the organic phase by performing 1H NMR and liquid/liquid and liquid/membrane extraction measurements. In the absence of copper(II), the 1H NMR data suggest that there is a strong interaction between the proton of LAH and the nitrogen of the 22DD macrocycle but no interaction between the aliphatic long chains of LAH and 22DD. Thus, in the organic solution, the two compounds are associated as (22DD-H)(+)-LA-, the laurate being away from (22DD-H)+. The signal intensity of the acidic proton was found to decrease when the metal Pb(II) was incorporated by the carrier after its extraction from the aqueous phase. Additionally, liquid/liquid as well as liquid/membrane extraction results reveal that Cu(II) extraction proceeds via the loss of two protons from the organic phase. The Cu(II) is found to be located in the 22DD cavity and the stoichiometry of the complex in the organic phase is (22DD-Cu)(2+)-2LA-. Metal extraction is governed by 22DD and laurate acts only as counteranion. An unexpected feature was observed in the liquid/liquid extraction which was that, at low 22DD and LAH concentrations, the slope for log(Kp) = f(pH) was 2 whereas it was much lower at high carrier concentration. This unexpected result seems to stem from impurities present in 22DD: only 0.1 mol% of impurity can indeed influence the exchange ratio of Cu(II) and H+. This type of anomaly, however, is not found in the normal procedure of liquid/membrane extraction possibly due to the lower carrier/metal molar ratio which is used in the classical PLM conditions.     

Polyrhodanine modified anodic aluminum oxide membrane for heavy metal ions removal

Polyrhodanine was immobilized onto the inner surface of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane via vapor deposition polymerization method. The polyrhodanine modified membrane was applied to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solution because polyrhodanine could be coordinated with specific metal ions. Several parameters such as initial metal concentration, contact time and metal species were evaluated systematically for uptake efficiencies of the fabricated membrane under continuous flow condition. Adsorption isotherms of Hg(II) ion on the AAO-polyrhodanine membrane were analyzed with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorption rate of Hg(II) ion on the membrane was obeyed by a pseudo-second order equation, indicating the chemical adsorption. The maximum removal capacity of Hg(II) ion onto the fabricated membrane was measured to be 4.2 mmol/g polymer. The AAO-polyrhodanine membrane had also remarkable uptake performance toward Ag(I) and Pb(II) ions. Furthermore, the polyrhodanine modified membrane could be recycled after recovery process. These results demonstrated that the polyrhodanine modified AAO membrane provided potential applications for removing the hazardous heavy metal ions from wastewater.     

Determination of dissolved metal species by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The distribution of metal species in solution was determined using flow injection electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Complexes formed by selected metal ions with added organic ligands in 50:50 water/acetonitrile and 50:50 water/methanol under acidic, neutral, and basic conditions were detected using electrospray ionization conditions optimized to best represent solution-phase interactions. Metal species containing acetate, nitrate, and solvent molecules predominated in acidic solution but became less abundant at higher pH. Interactions between metal ions and added organic ligands became more selective with increasing pH, showing the expected preference of hard and soft ligands for metal ions of the corresponding type. Species distributions also tended toward larger complexes as pH increased. Overall ion yield was greater for aqueous acetonitrile than for aqueous methanol solutions; however, reduction of copper(II) in aqueous acetonitrile resulted in the detection of copper(I) complexes for certain ligands. Experimental results for copper(II) and 8-hydroxyquinoline in 50:50 water/methanol showed good agreement with aqueous speciation predicted using the thermodynamic equilibrium model MINEQL. Detection of neutral complexes was achieved by protonation, deprotonation, or electrochemical oxidation during electrospray.     

Laser-activated voltammetry: measurement of the diffusion coefficients of electropassivating species. Application to pyrrole and phenol in aqueous solution

Clean electrode surfaces can be achieved during the electrolysis of otherwise passivating species in aqueous and other solutions by means of surface ablation using a 10-Hz pulsed Nd:YAG 532-nm laser. This ability to remove passivating electrolytically generated layers on glassy carbon and platinum electrodes is shown first by an investigation of the stripping peaks formed from the electrogeneration of the neutral forms of methyl viologen and heptyl viologen during reduction in aqueous solution of dications. Next, laser ablation was conducted under well-defined hydrodynamic conditions using a channel flow cell to identify laser power thresholds below which transport-limited currents could be seen, which were in quantitative agreement with those expected in the absence of irradiation. Levich plots recorded in the channel flow cell for K4Fe(CN)6 at glassy carbon and platinum electrodes showed such agreement for laser intensities lower than 0.17 and 0.65 W cm(-2), respectively. Working at intensities below these thresholds, steady-state voltammetry was observed for the oxidation of both phenol and pyrrole at glassy carbon and platinum electrodes, respectively, in aqueous solution. The diffusion coefficients of these two species were then measured under hydrodynamic conditions using laser ablation voltammetry to continuously clean the surface. Diffusion coefficients were inferred using the Levich equation. The result for phenol at a pH of 12 in aqueous solution was 0.9 (+/-0.1) x 10(-5) cm2 s(-1), which is in good agreement with an independent nonelectrochemical method. The diffusion coefficient of pyrrole in aqueous solution was similarly evaluated as 1.25 (+/-0.1) x 10(-5) cm2 s(-1).     

Adsorption of chromium(III), mercury(II) and lead(II) ions onto 4-aminoantipyrine immobilized bentonite

In this work, the immobilization of 4-aminoantipyrine onto bentonite was carried out and it was then used to investigate the adsorption behavior of Cr(III), Hg(II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The separation and preconcentration conditions of analytes were investigated, including effects of pH, the shaking time, the sample flow rate and volume, the elution condition and the interfering ions. Under optimum pH value (pH 4.0), the maximum static adsorption capacity of the sorbent was found to be 38.8, 52.9 and 55.5 mg g(-1) for Cr(III), Hg(II) and Pb(II), respectively. 2.0 mL of 2% thiourea in 1.0 M HCl solution effectively eluted the adsorbed metal ions. The detection limit (3σ) of this method defined by IUPAC was found to be 0.12, 0.09 and 0.23 ng mL(-1) for Cr(III), Hg(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower 3.0% (n=8). The developed method has been validated by analyzing certified reference materials and successfully applied to the determination of trace Cr(III), Hg(II) and Pb(II) in water samples with satisfactory results.     

On-line preconcentration of copper as its pyrocatechol violet complex on Chromosorb 105 for flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations

An on-line solid phase extraction method for the preconcentration and determination of Cu(II) by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) has been described. It is based on the adsorption of copper(II) ion onto a home made mini column of Chromosorb 105 resin loaded with pyrocatechol violet at the pH range of 5.0-8.0, then eluted with 1 mol L(-1) HNO(3). Several parameters, such as pH of the sample solution, amount of Chromosorb 105 resin, volume of sample and eluent, type of eluent, flow rates of sample and eluent, governing the efficiency and throughput of the method were evaluated. The concentration of the copper ion detected after preconcentration was in agreement with the added amount. At optimized conditions, for 15 min of preconcentration time (30 mL of sample volume), the system achieved a detection limit of 0.02 microg L(-1), with relative standard deviation 1.1% at 0.03 microg mL(-1) copper. The present method was found to be applicable to the preconcentration of Cu(II) in natural water samples.     

Complexing of heavy metals with DNA and new bioaffinity method of their determination based on amperometric DNA-based biosensor

The immobilized single-stranded DNA (ssIDNA) has been found to be a very effective biospecific analytical reagent when used in a newly developed bioaffinity method of the determination of heavy metals based on the amperometric DNA-based biosensor. This has been concluded from the comparative study of the complexing of heavy metals with double-stranded DNA, single-stranded DNA, and ssIDNA, using Fe(III) and Cu(II) as a model (metal/nucleotide ratio and stability constants are maximum for ssIDNA), from the study of adsorption of Fe(III), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Cd(II) on nitrocellulose membranes, containing single-stranded DNA, and from the determination of their binding constants with ssIDNA. According to these data, the chosen heavy metals can be lined up in a series of binding strengths with ssIDNA: Cu(II) > Pb(II) > Fe(III) > Cd(II). The method of the determination of heavy metals is based on biospecific preconcentration of metal ions on the biosensor followed by the destruction of DNA-metal complexes with ethylenediaminetetraacetate and voltammogram recording has been proposed. The lower detection limits are 4.0 x 10(-11), 1.0 x 10(-10), 1.0 x 10(-9), and 5.0 x 10(-9) M for Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), and Fe(III), respectively. The heavy metals have been assayed in multicomponent environmental and biological systems such as natural and drinking water, milk, and blood serum samples.     

Zincon-modified activated carbon for solid-phase extraction and preconcentration of trace lead and chromium from environmental samples

A new method that utilizes zincon-modified activated carbon (AC-ZCN) as a solid-phase extractant has been developed for simultaneous preconcentration of trace Cr(III) and Pb(II) prior to the measurement by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The separation/preconcentration conditions of analytes were investigated, including effects of pH, the shaking time, the sample flow rate and volume, the elution condition and the interfering ions. At pH 4, the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(III) and Pb(II) onto the AC-ZCN were 17.9 and 26.7 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The adsorbed metal ions were quantitatively eluted by 1 mL of 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HCl. Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation. According to the definition of IUPAC, the detection limits (3σ) of this method for Cr(III) and Pb(II) were 0.91 and 0.65 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The relative standard deviation under optimum condition is less than 3.5% (n = 8). The method has been applied for the determination of Cr(III) and Pb(II) in biological materials and water samples with satisfactory results.     

Simultaneous preconcentration and removal of iron, chromium, nickel with N,N'-etylenebis-(ethane sulfonamide) ligand on activated carbon in aqueous solution and determination by ICP-OES

In this study, Fe, Cr and Ni have been preconcentrated and removed by using N,N'-ethylenebis (ethane sulfonamide), (ESEN) ligand on activated carbon (AC) in aqueous solution. For this purpose, complexes between these metals and ligands have been investigated and used in preconcentration and removal studies. Factors which have affected adsorption of metals on activated carbon have been optimized. Adsorbed metals have been preconcentrated 10-fold and determined by ICP-OES. Interferences of Ca, Mg and K to this process have been investigated. The proposed method has been applied to the tap water and Ankara Creek water in order to Fe, Cr, and Ni remediation and preconcentration. Determination of metals by ICP-OES has been checked with standard reference material (NIST 1643e). The proposed method provides the recoveries of 87%, 108% and 106% for Fe, Cr and Ni, respectively, in preconcentration. It also provides the removal of Fe, Cr and Ni by 93%, 100% and 100% removal from waters, respectively.     

Selective measurement of ultratrace methylmercury in fish by flow injection on-line microcolumn displacement sorption preconcentration and separation coupled with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A novel nonchromatographic speciation technique for ultratrace methylmercury in biological materials was developed by flow injection microcolumn displacement sorption preconcentration and separation coupled on-line with electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). In the developed technique, Cu(II) was first on-line complexed with diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), and the resultant Cu-DDTC was presorbed onto a microcolumn packed with the sorbent from a cigarette filter. Selective preconcentration of methylmercury (MeHg) in the presence of Hg(II), ethylmercury (EtHg), and phenylmercury (PhHg) was achieved at pH 6.8 through loading the sample solution onto the microcolumn due to a displacement reaction between MeHg and the presorbed Cu-DDTC. The retained MeHg was subsequently eluted with 50 microL of ethanol and on-line determined by ETAAS. Interferences from coexisting heavy metal ions with lower stability of their DDTC complexes relative to Cu-DDTC were minimized without the need of any masking reagents. No interferences from 5.5 mg L(-1) Cu(II), 4.5 mg L(-1) Cd(II), 2.5 mg L(-1) Cr(III), 3 mg L(-1) Fe(III), 10 mg L(-1) Ni(II), 10 mg L(-1) Pb(II), and at least 25 mg L(-1) Zn(II) were observed for the determination of MeHg at the 50 ng L(-1) level (as Hg). With the consumption of only 3.4 mL of sample solution, an enhancement factor of 75, a detection limit of 6.8 ng L(-1) (as Hg) in the digest (corresponding to 3.4 ng g(-1) in original solid sample for a final 50 mL of digest of 0.1 g of solid material), and a precision (RSD, n = 13) of 2.3% for the determination of methylmercury at the 50 ng L(-1) (as Hg) level were achieved at a sample throughput of 30 samples h(-1). The recoveries of methylmercury spike in real fish samples ranged from 97 to 108%. The developed technique was validated by determination of methylmercury in a certified reference material (DORM-2, dogfish muscle), and was shown to be useful for the determination of methylmercury in real fish samples.     

Electrochemically modulated separation, concentration, and detection of plutonium using an anodized glassy carbon electrode and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Plutonium is shown to be retained on anodized glassy carbon (GC) electrodes at potentials positive of +0.7 V (vs Ag/AgCl reference) and released upon potential shifts to values negative of +0.3 V. This phenomenon has been exploited for the separation, concentration, and detection of plutonium by the coupling an electrochemical flow cell on-line with an ICPMS system. The electrochemically controlled deposition and analysis of Pu improves detection limits by analyte preconcentration and by matrix and isobaric ion elimination. Information related to the parametric optimization of the technique and hypotheses regarding the mechanism of electrochemical accumulation of Pu are reported. The most likely accumulation scenario involves complexation of Pu(IV) species, produced under a controlled potential, with anions retained in the anodization film that develops during the activation of the GC electrode. The release mechanism is believed to result from the reduction of Pu(IV) in the anion complex to Pu(III), which has a lower tendency to form complexes.     

Competitive adsorption of copper(II), cadmium(II), lead(II) and zinc(II) onto basic oxygen furnace slag

Polluted and contaminated water can often contain more than one heavy metal species. It is possible that the behavior of a particular metal species in a solution system will be affected by the presence of other metals. In this study, we have investigated the adsorption of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) onto basic oxygen furnace slag (BOF slag) in single- and multi-element solution systems as a function of pH and concentration, in a background solution of 0.01M NaNO(3). In adsorption edge experiments, the pH was varied from 2.0 to 13.0 with total metal concentration 0.84mM in the single element system and 0.21mM each of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) in the multi-element system. The value of pH(50) (the pH at which 50% adsorption occurs) was found to follow the sequence Zn>Cu>Pb>Cd in single-element systems, but Pb>Cu>Zn>Cd in the multi-element system. Adsorption isotherms at pH 6.0 in the multi-element systems showed that there is competition among various metals for adsorption sites on BOF slag. The adsorption and potentiometric titrations data for various slag-metal systems were modeled using an extended constant-capacitance surface complexation model that assumed an ion-exchange process below pH 6.5 and the formation of inner-sphere surface complexes at higher pH. Inner-sphere complexation was more dominant for the Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) systems.     

Preparation of xylenol orange functionalized silica gel as a selective solid phase extractor and its application for preconcentration--separation of mercury from waters

A new selective solid phase extractor was prepared from silica gel modified with xylenol orange (SGMXO). The solid phase extractor is stable in 6molL(-1) HCl, common organic solvents, and pH 1.0-9.0 buffer solutions. In the batch experiments, Hg(II) can be adsorbed on SGMXO at pH 1.0 with 90.0% retention, whereas the retention of other common coexisting metal ions such as Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), and Fe(III) is less than 4.1%.. The adsorption equilibration for Hg(II) was achieved within 3min. At optimum conditions, the adsorption capacity of the extractor is 18.26micromolg(-1) of dry modified silica gel, and the preconcentration factor is as high as 333. The recovery is still higher than 95% for the preconcentration of 10ngmL(-1) Hg(II). The new solid phase extractor has been used for the preconcentration of low level of Hg(II) in surface water, tap water in chemistry laboratory and student's dormitory and a simulated sea water samples, recoveries of 98.2-100.6% were obtained. It is showed that low level of Hg(II) can be effectively preconcentrated by this new selective solid phase extractor.     

Removal and recovery of mercury(II) from hazardous wastes using 1-(2-thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol functionalized activated carbon as solid phase extractant

As a part of removal of toxic heavy metals from hazardous wastes, solid phase extraction (SPE) of mercury(II) at trace and ultra trace levels was studied using 1-(2-thiazolylazo)-2-naphthol (TAN) functionalized activated carbon (AC). The SPE material removes traces of mercury(II) quantitatively in the pH range 6.0 +/- 0.2. Other parameters that influence quantitative recovery of mercury(II), viz. percent concentration of TAN in AC, amount of TAN-AC, preconcentration time and volume of aqueous phase were varied and optimized. The possible means of removal of Hg(II) from other metal ions that are likely to be present in the wastes of the chloroalkali industry is discussed. The potential of TAN-functionalized AC SPE material for decontaminating mercury from the brine sludge and cell house effluent of a chloralkali plant has been evaluated.     

On-line solid phase selective separation and preconcentration of Cd(II) by solid-phase extraction using carbon active modified with methyl thymol blue

An on-line flow system was used to develop a selective and efficient on-line sorbent extraction preconcentration system for cadmium. The method is based on adsorption of cadmium ions onto the activated carbon modified with methyl thymol blue. Then the adsorbed ions were washed using 0.5M HNO(3) and the eluent was used to determine the Cd(II) ions using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The results obtained show that the modified activated carbon has the greatest adsorption capacity of 80 microg of Cd(II) per 1.0 g of the solid phase. The optimal pH value for the quantitative preconcentration was 9.0 and full desorption is achieved by using 0.5M HNO(3) solution. It is established that the solid phase can be used repeatedly without a considerable adsorption capacity loss. The detection limit was less than 1 ngmL(-1) Cd(II), with an enrichment factor of 1000. The calibration graph was linear in the range of 1-2000 ngmL(-1) Cd(II). The developed method has been applied to the determination of trace cadmium (II) in water samples and in the following reference materials: sewage sludge (CRM144R), and sea water (CASS.4) with satisfactory results. The accuracy was assessed through recovery experiments.     

Thiacalix[4]arene derivatives as extractants for metal ions in aqueous solutions: Application to the selective facilitated transport of Ag(I)

The complexation abilities of different thiacalix[4]arene derivatives towards some rare earth metal ions, metallic pollutants, and noble metals have been investigated in liquid–liquid experiments. Thiacalix[4]arene dissolved in chloroform effectively extracts Pd(II) (in acidic chloride media) and also Ag(I), Cd(II), Sm(III) and Ce(III), all buffered at pH 6 or 8. The modification of this compound to form an amide derivative results in an effective extraction of noble metals, ranked according to Au(III) > Pd(II) > Pt(IV) > Ag(I). Moreover, a supported liquid membrane system for silver transport has been developed based on thiacalix[4]arene dissolved in NPOE, and parameters affecting its efficiency have been investigated, such as the stripping composition and the pH of the feed solution. Finally, the selectivity of the membrane system has been evaluated by using as feed sources mixtures of silver and other metal ions.