A new concept of liquid membranes in Taylor flow. Performance for lactic acid removal

Abstract

A liquid membrane in Taylor flow regime is a novel alternative kind of contact in three-phase flow for liquid membranes that preserves the advantages of conventional emulsion liquid membranes while overcomes the stability problems of emulsion systems. As a proof of concept, this work presents experimental results of a liquid membrane in Taylor flow for lactic acid removal. Several operating conditions, such as injection times, delay times and flow of the membrane phase were tested for a channel length and inner diameter of 348.8 cm and 2.5 mm, respectively. The lactic acid removal is mainly affected by the driving force of lactic acid concentrations between donor droplets and the membrane interface, and the space-time. Thus, the lactic acid removal process through the liquid membrane in Taylor flow is enhanced at low injection times and high droplet velocity considering that enough space-time is provided. This technology results promising as an alternative to conventional liquid membranes and the intensification of chemical and fermentative processes.