Heavy metal removal from water is a great concern for environmentalists and engineers. Ion-imprinted membranes are among the state of the art technologies for selective adsorption of heavy metals from aqueous environment. Dialysis permeation of nickel ions through Ni(II)-imprinted membranes has been thermodynamically studied in our prior work. In current study, the diffusive transport model was developed and then applied for better insight into the retardation mechanisms involved in the ion-imprinted membrane transport. The Sips isotherm model was coupled with the transport model to obtain the governing equation. Chemisorption and physical interactions (bulk diffusion and pore-clogging) were the most probable retardation mechanisms according to the modeling results. Relative retardation factor (η) was also defined as; transport-rate controlled by chemical adsorption to that controlled by physical interactions. With the help of the retardation factor, it was understood that the membrane behavior gradually changes from chemisorption to facilitated transport during permeation time. Effect of important operating parameters such as time, temperature and concentration on transport behavior was also investigated. Results indicated that chemisorption rate is rather higher at lower concentrations, early permeation times and reduced temperatures. In addition, η tabulated greater values for Ni(II) compared to Co(II) due to the imprinting effect.
