The multimembrane hybrid system (MHS) was proposed for the separation and recovery of Zn2+ cations from a multi ionic feed phase. The composition of the aqueous solution used as the feed phase simulates qualitatively wastewater from either hydrometallurgical or electroplating processes. The effect of various physicochemical and operational parameters was investigated. It was found that Zn2+ cations can be effectively separated from multi ionic solution (according to the carrier properties) and concentrated in the stripping solution with the quasi-stationary fluxes attaining 6 x 10(-10) mol/cm(2) s. The sufficient selectivity and fluxes of Zn2+ ions are observed for carrier concentration in the liquid membrane varied between 0.05 and 0.1 M D2EHPA, the feed solution concentration varied between 2 x 10(-3) M and 0.01 M, the striping solution concentration equals 1 M, and initial pH of the feed solution higher than 2. It was also experimentally confirmed that the cation-exchange membranes enable a long-term and continuous operation of the system. (C) 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.