Impacts of experimental parameters and natural water matrix on the elimination of ranitidine from water by emulsion liquid membrane

Ranitidine (RAN) is one of the most commonly recommended medications because it effectively reduces the amount of acid produced in the stomach, is persistent in aqueous solutions, and is nonbiodegradable. Hence, the goal of this study is to use emulsion liquid membrane (ELM), an advanced separation technique, to eliminate RAN from aqueous media. The components of the ELM system include sulfuric acid as the internal receiving solution, kerosene as the diluent, Span 80 as the emulsifier, and D2EHPA as the extractant. The effects of operating conditions were examined. A metastable emulsion with complete drug elimination, i.e., 100 %, from the aqueous contaminated phase was obtained after 60 min at an emulsifier concentration of 3 % (w/w), extractant concentration of 3.2 % (w/w), kerosene as diluent, internal receiving solution concentration of 0.2 N sulfuric acid, emulsification speed of 20,000, emulsification time of 4 min, stirring rate of 300 rpm, volume ratio of receiving solution to membrane of 1/1, volume ratio of emulsion to feed solution of 20/200 and initial RAN concentration ≤ 20 mg/L. Excellent extraction efficiency was achieved even at the initial RAN concentration interval of 5 −100 mg/L. The permeation of RAN from various real water matrices was also investigated. For the purpose of RAN extraction from water, the implemented ELM system provides an interesting advanced separation technique.