Batch extraction with liquid surfactant membranes: A diffusion controlled model

A model of diffusion controlled mass transfer in liquid surfactant membranes is developed for uniform emulsion globules having no internal circulation. The solute is assumed to react instantaneously and irreversibly with the internal reagent at a reaction surface which advances into the globule as the reagent is consumed. A perturbation solution to the resulting non‐linear equations is presented. In general, the zero‐order, or pseudo‐steady state solution alone often gives an adequate representation of the process. Experimental data on the batch extraction of phenol from waste water are in good agreement with the model predictions.