A series of competitive metal ion transport experiments have been performed. Each involved transport from an aqueous source phase across an organic membrane phase into an aqueous receiving phase. The source phase contained equimolar concentrations of cobalt(II), nickel(II), cupper(II), zinc(II), cadmium(II), silver(I) and lead(II) metal cations. The membrane phase incorporated ionophore, decyl-18-crown-6. The membrane solvents include: chloroform, dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, nitrobenzene and chloroform–nitrobenzene binary solvents. A good transport efficiency and selectivity of Pb2+ transport from aqueous solutions are observed in this investigation. The selectivity order for competitive bulk liquid membrane transport of the studied transition and post transition metal cations through chloroform is: Pb2+>Co2+>Ni2+>Ag+>Cd2+, but in the case of dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane and nitrobenzene as liquid membranes, the selectivity sequences were found to be: Pb2+>Co2+>Cd2+>Cu2+>Ag+>Ni2+>Zn2+, Pb2+>Co2+>Ag+>Ni2+>Zn2+ and Pb2+>Co2+>Ni2+>Zn2+>Cd2+>Ag+, respectively. The transport rate of the metal cations in chloroform–nitrobenzene binary solvents is sensitive to the solvent composition. The transport processes were studied in absence and presence of the stearic acid and the results show that the sequence of selectivities and ion transport rates change in the presence of stearic acid.

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