The EML Solution

Mining is the extraction of metals and minerals from the environment. It has influenced the world in many different ways as useful products are made through mining and it is used to enhance our lives. The most common metals that are being mined and extracted include iron, aluminum, magnesium, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, lead and gold. (Hudson, Fox and Plumlee, 1999) It is difficult to imagine a life without these metals. Mining is a money-making business and it occurs in many places over the world. Not only the mining companies could make profits, the government could have valuable revenue via export. It has also benefits the workers and the societies as it creates a lot of jobs, especially in the less economic developed countries area, where

If this science idea is applied to treat effluent, it could affect the world environmentally. The advantage of the EML solution include its high efficiency, as the pollutants can be removed and materials can be recovered simultaneously. The water quality could be improved effectively as strong acidic metal could also be extracted and concentrated in one step. Also while compare to conventional liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), the EML solution provides a much larger interfacial area, which results in increased extraction rate. Another environmental advantage of this EML technique is its low energy consumption and easy to operate. The transport requires kinetic energy rather than equilibrium parameters, which could save a lot of energy and contribute to protect the environment. Although there are some advantages of this EML solution, there are some limitations as well. One of the limitations is the stability of emulsion and osmotic swelling. If the membrane does not remain intact, the separation achieved to the point will be destroyed, thus it is important to control anything that may affect the stability of the emulsion, for examples the temperature, pH, the external mass transfer, as well as the rate of the formation at the interface. Another limitation is that the EML method uses conventional kerosene, organic solvents and carriers which could be dangerous to the environment. However this method could be modified to a more environmental friendly method by changing its materials, for example, by the use coconut or palm oil, the non-toxic vegetable oil as carriers could help to reduce the toxic and chemical