In this present study, alcohol/salt liquid biphasic system was used to extract phlorotannin from brown macroalgae. Liquid biphasic system is a new green technology that integrated with various processes into one-step, by concentrating, separating and purifying the bioproduct in a unit operation. The solvent used is non-toxic and there is potential for solvent recovery which is beneficial to the environment. Phlorotannin is a bioactive compound that has gained much attention due to its health beneficial effect. Therefore, the isolation of phlorotannin is lucrative as it contains various biological activities that are capable to be utilised into food and pharmaceutical application. By using 2-propanol/ammonium sulphate system, the highest recovery of phlorotannin was 76.1% and 91.67% with purification factor of 2.49 and 1.59 from Padina australis and Sargassum binderi, respectively. A recycling study was performed and the salt phase of system was recycled where maximum salt recovery of 41.04% and 72.39% could be obtained from systems containing P. australis and S. binderi, respectively. Similar recovery of phlorotannin was observed after performing two cycles of the system, this concludes that the system has good recyclability and eco-friendly.
Effluent containing colour/dyes, especially reactive dyes, becomes a great concern of wastewater treatment because it is toxic to human life and aquatic life. In this study, reactive dye of Black B was separated using the supported liquid membrane process. Commercial polypropylene membrane was used as a support of the kerosene-tridodecylamine liquid membrane. Several parameters were tested and the result showed that almost 100% of 70 ppm Black B was removed and 99% of 70 ppm Black B was recovered at pH 2 of the feed phase containing 0.00001 M Na2SiO3, flow rate of 150 ml/min and 0.2 M NaOH. The membrane support also remained stable for up to 36 hours under an optimum condition.