Dysprosium pertraction through facilitated supported liquid membrane using D2EHPA as carrier

The pertraction of dysprosium (Dy) through a supported liquid membrane (SLM) system consisting of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) support, D2EHPA (di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid) dissolved in kerosene as membrane solution, and HNO3 solution as stripping solution, was studied. The experiments were designed by the Taguchi method in order to investigate the effects of initial Dy concentration, feed phase pH, different stripping solution concentration, and D2EHPA concentration in the membrane phase on Dy pertraction. Optimal experimental conditions for Dy pertraction were obtained using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) (feed concentration: 130 mg L−1, D2EHPA concentration: 0.90 M, feed phase pH: 5, stripping phase concentration: 2 M). In addition, the stability of the carrier in terms of its leaching from the membrane support was studied over a period of 6 days and was found to be satisfactory over that time.