Arab J Sci Eng (2011) 36:529–539 DOI 10.1007/s13369-011-0057-5 RESEARCH ARTICLE - CHEMISTRY Volkan Eyupoglu · Osman Tutkun The Extraction of Cr(VI) by a Flat Sheet Supported Liquid Membrane Using Alamine 336 as a Carrier Received: 17 December 2009 / Revised: 3 April 2010 / Accepted: 20 May 2010 / Published online: 29 June 2011 © King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals 2011 Abstract Chromium compounds have received considerable attention because they have been used extensively in such industrial applications as electro-plating, steelmaking, tanning of leather goods, and as corrosion inhib- itors. The use of flat sheet supported liquid membranes (FSSLMs) to remove metals from wastewaters has been actively undertaken by both the scientific and industrial communities. The present work deals with car- rier-facilitated membrane transport of Cr(VI) from acidic media across a FSSLM using the organic extractant reagent Alamine 336. The efficiency of the membrane transport was optimized as a function of pH, diluent type, strip phase (NaOH) concentration, feed and strip phase mixing speed, extractant type and concentra- tion, and support type. Various initial feed phase Cr(VI) concentrations were studied under the optimum conditions. At a 2,000 ppm optimum feed phase concentration, the FSSLM showed no significant loss in permeability and retained the same transport ability over 49 h. Under that condition, the extraction of Cr(VI) was found to be > 99% and the mass flux and permeation coefficient were calculated using related equations as 7.35 × 10 -6 kg m -2 s and 7.88 × 10 -6 ms -1 , respectively. Keywords Cr(VI) extraction · Flat sheet supported liquid membrane (FSSLM) · Alamine 336 · Tertiary amine extractants · Facilitated mass transport V. Eyupoglu · O. Tutkun Department of Chemistry, Sakarya University, 54110 Esentepe, Sakarya, Turkey V. Eyupoglu (B ) Chemistry Department, Science and Lecture Faculty, Sakarya University, 54187 Esentepe, Sakarya, Turkey Tel.: +90-264-2956065 Fax: +90-264-2955950 E-mail: veyupoglu@sakarya.edu.tr 123