An integrated electrochemical reaction and supported liquid membrane approach to recycling

The application of membrane separation integrated into an electrochemical technique for recycling of industrial effluent containing dissolved chromium is presented. Hexavalent chromium, produced by the anodic oxidation of Cr(III) in an undivided electrochemical batch reactor equipped with membrane separation, is extracted into a strip phase by a solvent loaded microporous flat sheet polypropylene membrane containing Aliquat 336. This process is compared with oxidation carried out in a divided and an undivided cell without membrane separation.