Pervaporation of Methanol/Methyl‐t‐Butyl Ether Mixtures Through Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)/Poly(Acrylic Acid) Blend Membranes

Abstract

Membranes obtained by blending poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) have been investigated for the separation of methanol and methyl‐t‐butyl ether (MTBE) liquid mixtures through a pervaporation process. Experiments were performed by contacting one side of a polymer dense film with the liquid mixture and removing the vapor on the other side with an inert gas flux, a setup for a process with sweeping gas. The blend membranes, with a COOH/OH ratio in the 0.5–2.5 range, are permeated by methanol preferentially. Higher values of flux and lower values of selectivity are observed when the methanol content in the feed increases. The ratio PAA/PVOH of the membrane influences both flux and selectivity in the same way. A maximum of both flux and selectivity is observed at a COOH/OH ratio of about 2. The swelling of membranes of different composition in the presence of different liquid composition explains the flux behavior in the pervaporation experiments. The observed membrane swelling has been explained on the basis of the solubility parameters of the components of the system.     

Effect of Residual Solvent on Physicochemical Properties of Poly(Phenylene Isophtalamide) Membrane

The influence of a plasticizer in the form of the residual solvent dimethylacetamide on pervaporation and sorption properties of membranes based on poly(phenylene isophtalamide) (PA) was investigated. To analyze the influence of the plasticizer on membrane transport properties, pervaporation of binary water–ethyl acetate mixtures was studied. The method of sorption calorimetry was used to investigate water sorption properties of the studied membranes and PA powder. Moreover, to characterize the PA membranes, contact angle measurements and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were applied. It is shown that the presence of a residual organic solvent significantly changes the sorption and transport characteristics of the membranes. The residual organic solvent increases the amount of water absorbed by the polymer membrane. In pervaporation of water/ethyl acetate mixtures, the presence of the residual solvent dimethylacetamide makes the membrane more permeable but less selective for water separation.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl amine) blend membranes for isopropanol dehydration

Blended membranes of hydrophilic polymers poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(vinyl amine) (PVAm) were prepared and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. The prepared membranes were characterized using infrared (attenuated total reflection mode) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray diffractometry, and scanning electron microscopy measurements. Pervaporation performances of the membranes were evaluated for the separation of water‐isopropanol (IPA) mixtures. As the PVAm content increased from PVAm0 to PVAm1.5, the flux through a 70 μm film increased from 0.023 to 0.10 kg/m² h at an IPA/water feed ratio of 85/15 at 30 °C. The driving force for permeation of water increased due to the temperature but it has no effect on IPA permeation. Activation energies for the permeation of IPA and water were calculated to be 17.11 and 12.46 kJ/mol, respectively. Controlling the thickness of the blend membrane could improve the permeation flux with only a marginal reduction in the separation factor. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45572.     

Pervaporation of ethanol-water mixtures through poly(vinyl alcohol-g-acrylic acid) membranes prepared by use of Fenton's reagent in grafting

Ionic crosslinking of the ferric ions and the carboxylic groups in the poly(vinyl alcohol-g-acrylic acid) (poly(VA-g-AA)) membranes improves the size screening effect in the pervaporation of ethanol-water separation. In the grafting polymerization of acrylic acid monomer onto poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), ferric ions are remained in the polymer membranes as the Fenton's reagent(Fe²⁺-H₂O₂) is used to initiate the reaction. Completely reversed trends in terms of the degree of swelling, the pervaporation selectivity, and the flux of permeates are obtained depending on that the ferric ions are present or absent in the membranes. The degree of swelling decreases, the pervaporation selectivity increases, and the flux decreases as the grafting percentage increases for the membranes containing ferric ions. The degree of swelling and the flux of permeates increase but the pervaporation selectivity is reduced as the grafting percentage increases for the membranes which were washed with acid to remove ferric ions.     

Ultrasound Assisted Pervaporation Separation of Pyridine/Water Mixtures Using Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Polyacrylonitrile Blend Membranes

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/polyacrylonitrile blend membranes were prepared to separate pyridine/water mixtures by pervaporation. The membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of membrane composition, feed pyridine concentration, operating temperature, downstream pressure and ultrasound irradiation on the separation process were evaluated. The experimental results indicated that with increasing PVA mass ratio and operating temperature the permeate flux increased but the separation factor decreased, while with increasing feed concentration and downstream pressure the separation factor increased and the permeate flux decreased. It was observed that Ultrasound irradiation enhanced the permeate flux.     

Mixed matrix membranes prepared from natural rubber/poly(vinyl alcohol) semi-interpenetrating polymer network (NR/PVA semi-IPN) incorporating with zeolite 4A for the pervaporation dehydration of water-ethanol mixtures

The pervaporation dehydration of water-ethanol mixtures was investigated using the mixed matrix (MM) membranes prepared from natural rubber (NR) and crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) semi-IPN embedded with the zeolite 4A. With the presence of NR as well as zeolite, the swelling of MM membranes in water was effectively suppressed. Examined by DSC, the non-freezing bound water in the MM membranes was found decreasing with more zeolite loading because the water-polymer interaction is diminishing. The sorption study of MM membranes revealed a preferential sorption to water with improved water sorption selectivity as increasing the zeolite loading. For pervaporation at 5 vol% water in feed, the reversed trade-off with respect to the zeolite loading was encountered such that the total permeation flux increased along with an enhancement of the water separation factor. For higher feed water concentration, despite the greater total permeation flux, the separation factor was reduced owing to the extensive swelling of the polymer matrix. The temperature dependency of the partial water and ethanol fluxes followed the Arrhenius relationship and the estimated activation energies for water flux were lower than those of the ethanol flux, suggesting that the developed MM membranes are highly water selective.     

Recovery of alcohols from water using polydimethylsiloxane–silica nanocomposite membranes: Characterization and pervaporation performance

Different polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposite membranes were synthesized by incorporating various contents of nanosized silica particles to improve the PDMS pervaporation (PV) performance. A uniform dispersion of silica nanoparticles in the PDMS membranes was obtained. The nanocomposite membranes were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that surface roughness increases by incorporating silica, and this decreases absorption of penetrants on the membrane. Swelling studies showed that the presence of silica nanoparticles into the PDMS membranes decreases degree of swelling, which can be attributed to rigidification of the PDMS matrix. Additionally, the results revealed that helium permeability decreases through the nanocomposite membranes, due to the more polymer chains packing. Effects of silica on recovery of isopropanol (IPA) from water mixtures were also investigated. Based on the results, incorporating silica nanoparticles promotes significantly the PDMS membrane selectivity because the polymer chains are rigidified and also the polymer free volume decreases. However, permeation flux decreases as diffusion of the penetrants reduces in the presence of silica nanoparticles within the PDMS membranes. As PV performance depends on operating conditions, effects of feed composition, and temperature were also studied. Moreover, recoveries of IPA, ethanol, and methanol from water mixtures were compared using the PDMS‐silica nanocomposite membranes. The results demonstrated that polarity and solubility of alcohols affect permeation flux and selectivity resulting in the higher permeation flux and selectivity for IPA. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Preparation and characterization of Silicalite‐1/PDMS surface sieving pervaporation membrane for separation of ethanol/water mixture

To improve the pervaporation performance of Silicalite‐1/PDMS composite membrane by adding a small amount of Silicalite‐1 zeolite, novel Silicalite‐1/PDMS surface sieving membranes (SSMs) were prepared by attaching Silicalite‐1 particles on the PDMS membrane surface. The obtained membranes and traditional mixed‐matrix membranes (MMMs) were characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA, FT‐IR, and pervaporation separation of ethanol–water mixture. Effects of Silicalite‐1 particles content, feed temperatures, and feed compositions on the separation performance were discussed. From the cross‐section view SEM images of SSMs, a two‐layer structure was observed. The thickness of the Silicalite‐1 layer was about 300 nm to 2 μm. The TGA analysis indicates that the zeolite concentration in 3 wt % SSM is lower than 10 wt % MMMs. In the ethanol/water pervaporation experiment, the separation factor of Silicalite‐1/PDMS SSMs increased considerably compared with pure PDMS membrane. When the suspensions concentrations of Silicalite‐1 particles reached 3 wt %, the separation factor was about 217% increase over pure PDMS membrane and 52.9% increase over 10 wt % Silicalite‐1/PDMS MMMs. As the ethanol concentration in the feed increases, the separation factor of SSMs increases, whereas permeation flux decreases. At the same time, with increasing operating temperature, the permeation flux of SSMs increased. The stability of SSMs at high temperature is better than the traditional MMMs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42460.     

Separation of Phenol from Aqueous Streams by a Composite Hollow Fiber Based Pervaporation Process Using Polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS)/Polyether-Block-Amide (PEBA) as Two-Layer Membranes

Abstract

In order to simultaneously achieve both high permselectivity and permeability (flux) for the recovery of aromatic compounds such as phenol from aqueous streams, a composite organophilic hollow fiber based pervaporation process using PDMS/PEBA as two-layer membranes has been developed. The process employed a hydrophobic microporous polypropylene hollow fiber, having thin layers of silicones (PDMS) and PEBA polymers coating on the inside diameter. The composite membrane module is used to investigate the pervaporation behavior of phenol in water in a separate study; and that of a mixture of phenol, methanol, and formaldehyde in an aqueous stream (a typical constituent of wastewater stream of phenol-formaldehyde resin manufacturing process) in another study. The fluxes of phenol and water increase relatively linearly with increasing concentration especially at low feed concentration, and exhibit a near plateau with further increase in concentration. As a result, the phenol/water separation factor decreases as the feed concentration increases. Significant improvement in phenol/water separation factor and phenol flux is achieved for this two-layer (PDMS/PEBA) membranes as compared to that achieved using only PDMS membrane. The phenol and water fluxes and the separation factor are highly sensitive to permeate pressure as all decrease sharply with increase in permeate pressure. For this membrane, an increase in temperature increases the separation factor, and also permeation fluxes of phenol and water. An increase in feed-solution velocity does not have a significant effect on phenol and water fluxes, and also on the separation factor at least within the range of the feed-solution velocity considered. In the study of pervaporation behavior of a typical constituent of wastewater stream of phenol-formaldehyde resin manufacturing process, phenol permeation shows a much higher flux and a higher increase in flux with increase in concentration is also exhibited as compared to that exhibited by methanol permeation. This thus indicates that the membrane is more permeable to phenol than to methanol and formaldehyde.     

Pervaporation separation of binary and ternary mixtures with polydimethylsiloxane membranes

This study dealt with the separation of binary water–phenol and water–methanol mixtures and ternary water–phenol–methanol mixtures by pervaporation (PV) with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes. The effects of the operating conditions (feed temperature, feed concentration, and feed flow rate) on the separation performance for binary mixtures were investigated. An increase in temperature or concentration increased the total permeation flux and decreased the organic separation factor. In other words, an increase in the temperature or feed organic concentration increased the water flux more significantly than the organic compound flux, which resulted in a separation factor reduction. Also, an increase in the feed flow rate increased the total flux and separation factor because the boundary layer effects diminished. The vapor–liquid equilibrium separation factor (α_VLE) and pervaporation separation factor (α_PV) values for the PDMS membrane were calculated, and this showed that α_PV for the water–phenol mixture was greater than α_VLE. This means that the membrane was highly efficient for the PV separation of phenol from dilute aqueous solutions relative to the separation of methanol. This was due to the fact that phenol has a higher solubility parameter than methanol in silicone membranes. To study the effect of a third component on membrane performance, PV experiments were also carried out with water–phenol–methanol mixtures. The results for total permeation flux and the phenol separation factor for PDMS membranes in contact with water–phenol–methanol ternary mixtures are similar to those in contact with water–phenol binary mixtures. The phenol separation factor of the membrane in contact with the ternary mixture was slightly lower than that in contact with the binary mixture. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) interpenetrating polymer network: Synthesis and pervaporation properties

Novel interpenetrating polymer network membranes were made from poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) blends of different compositions. The two polymer components were independently crosslinked chemically with glutaraldehyde and photochemically with 4,4′‐diazostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid disodium salt. The membrane performances were studied in pervaporation of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water and THF/methanol mixtures. It was found that the membranes were excellent in THF dehydration, but much less efficient for the separation of THF/methanol mixtures. The pervaporation results were consistent with the membrane swelling data. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2808–2814, 2003     

Pervaporation separation of an aqueous organic mixture through a poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinylphosphonic acid) membrane

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)‐based copolymers containing phosphonic acid moiety were synthesized for dehydration of aqueous pyridine solution. The in situ complex, formed between the vinylphosphonic acid (VP) moiety in the membrane and the pyridine in the feed, enhanced separation capacity of poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinylphosphonic acid) (PANVP) membranes. All the PAN‐based membranes containing phosphonic acid were very selective toward water. The pervaporation performances of PANVP membranes depended on the content of the phosphonic acid moiety in the membrane and operating temperature. The pervaporation separation of water/pyridine mixtures using PANVP membranes exhibited over 99.8% water concentration in permeate and flux of 4–120 g/m²/h depending on the content of vinylphosphonic acid and operating temperature. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 83–89, 1999     

Three‐component mixed matrix organic/inorganic hybrid membranes for pervaporation separation of ethanol–water mixture

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were made by incorporating vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS)‐modified Silicalite‐1 zeolite nanoparticles (V‐Silicalite‐1 NPs) into fluorinated polybenzoxazine (F‐PBZ) modified polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer through in situ polymerization method. The membrane morphology, surface wettability, and pervaporation performance were systematically investigated. The addition of F‐PBZ into PDMS membranes resulted in substantially improved flux and marginal increase of separation factor, which is the result of higher free volume and higher hydrophobicity caused by the addition of F‐PBZ. The modification of Silicalite‐1 NPs improved the interfacial contact between zeolite crystals and polymer phase. The incorporation of hydrophobic V‐Silicalite‐1 zeolite NPs into the PDMS membranes led to much higher separation factor but reduced flux, which is the result of increased hydrophobicity and reduced free volume. The three‐component MMMs with V‐Silicalite‐1 zeolite NPs in the F‐PBZ fluorinated PDMS exhibited separation factor of 28.7 and flux of 0.207 kg m^?2 h^?1 for 5 wt % ethanol aqueous solution at 50 °C, while the pure PDMS membranes only had separation factor of 4.8 and flux of 0.088 kg m^?2 h^?1. The substantial increase of both flux and separation factor were attributed to the higher hydrophobicity and free volume caused by the incorporation of both hydrophobic zeolite crystals and F‐PBZ polymer into the PDMS membranes. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44753.     

Effect of additives on the properties and performance of cellulose acetate derivative membranes in the separation of isopropanol/water mixtures

In this work, various cellulose acetate (CA) membranes for pervaporation were prepared by the incorporation of different additives, i.e. polyethylene glycol-600 (PEG-600), propylene glycol (PG), and ethylene glycol (EG) to enhance the separation of isopropanol (IPA)/water mixtures. These membranes were characterized by FTIR, DSC, TGA, SEM and UTM. Each additive was responsible for its characteristic effect on the membrane morphology, mechanical strength, permeation flux and separation factor. The SEM micrograph showed that the additives were evenly dispersed in the membrane matrix with the formation of dense membranes. The UTM tests for the membrane reveled that both the Young's Modulus and tensile strength increased with the increase in additive contents. TGA studies for the CA/PEG blend membrane exhibited the highest thermal stability as compared to the CA/PG and CA/EG blends. For each of these synthesized membranes, the separation factor decreased while the permeation flux increased with the increase in additive contents, while the CA/PG membrane with 20 wt.% additive content showed highest permeation flux of 452.27 g/m²h.     

Mixed Matrix Silicone and Fluorosilicone/Zeolite 4A Membranes for Ethanol Dehydration by Pervaporation

The ability of homogeneous and mixed matrix membranes prepared using standard silicone rubber, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), and fluorosilicone rubber, poly(trifluoropropylmethylsiloxane) (PTFPMS), to dehydrate ethanol by pervaporation was evaluated. Although PDMS is generally considered to be the benchmark hydrophobic membrane material in pervaporation, water/ethanol molar permselectivity of a pure PDMS membrane was found to be 0.89 for a feed containing 80/20 w/w ethanol/water at 50°C, indicating a slight selectivity for water. Fluorinated groups in PTFPMS improved the water-ethanol permselectivity to 1.85, but decreased the water permeability from 9.7 × 10^?12 kmol · m/m² · s · kPa in PDMS to 5.1 × 10^?12 kmol · m/m² · s · kPa (29,000 and 15,200 Barrer, respectively). These water permeabilities are attractive, particularly since the rubbery materials should not experience the steep declines in water permeability observed with most standard dehydration membranes as water concentration in the feed decreases. However, the water selectivity is lower than desired for most applications. Particles of hydrophilic zeolite 4A were loaded into both PDMS and PTFPMS matrices in an effort to boost water selectivity and further improve water permeability. Water-ethanol permselectivities as high as 11.5 and water permeabilities as high as 23.2 × 10^?12 kmol · m/m² · s · kPa were observed for the PTFPMS/zeolite 4A mixed matrix membranes?6 times higher than for the unfilled PTFPMS membrane.     

Synthesis,characterization, and pervaporation properties of segmented poly(urethane‐urea)s

Poly(urethane‐urea)s (PUUs) from 2,4‐tolylene diisocyanate (2,4‐TDI), poly(oxytetramethylene)diols (PTMO) or poly(butylene adipate)diol (PBA), and various diamines were synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, and density measurements. Transport properties of the dense PUU‐based membranes were investigated in the pervaporation of benzene–cyclohexane mixtures. It was shown that the pervaporation characteristics of the prepared membranes depend on the structure and length of the PUU segments. The PBA‐based PUUs exhibit good pervaporation performance along with a very good durability in separation of the azeotropic benzene–cyclohexane mixture. They are characterized by the flux value of 25.5 (kg μm m⁻² h⁻¹) and the separation factor of 5.8 at 25°C, which is a reasonable compromise between the both transport parameters. The PTMO‐based PUUs display high permeation flux and low selectivity in separation of the benzene‐rich mixtures. At the feed composition of 5% benzene in cyclohexane, their selectivity and flux are in the range of 3.2 to 11.7 and 0.4 to 40.3, respectively, depending on the length of the hard and soft segments. The chemical constitution of the hard segments resulting from the chain extender used does not affect the selectivity of the PUU membranes. It enables, however, the permeability of the membranes to be tailored. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 1615–1625, 1999     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Carboxyl Graphene Membranes for Ethanol Dehydration by Pervaporation

Carboxyl graphene (CG) with two functions of hybridization and crosslinking was incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix to form PVA/CG mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs). The membranes demonstrated excellent mechanical properties and thermal stability. The improved hydrophilicity and formed crosslinking structure led to moderate swelling. The membrane crystallinity decreased and the free volume was promoted with increasing CG loading amount. The pervaporation (PV) separation performance for ethanol dehydration indicated that both permeation flux and separation factor were enhanced simultaneously at the optimum CG loading. Subsequently, the permeation flux continued to increase while the separation factor declined at higher CG loadings.     

Extraction of 1-butanol from aqueous solutions by pervaporation

The extraction of 1-butanol from fermentation broths by pervaporation offers potential for use in biotechnology. Various membrane materials have been screened for their suitability for this process. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes gave the best results in terms of flux and selectivity, with large variations depending on their nature and preparation. Selectivity was further increased by including either organophilic adorbents (cyclodextrins, zeolites), or oleyl alcohol in dense PDMS membranes. The predominance of driving force (i.e. activity gradient) on pervaporation extraction performances was shown by a comparative study on different binary aqueous solutions of alcohols. Water flux remained practically constant while the alcohol flux was linearly related to its feed concentration. The conclusions obtained with binary mixtures were consistent with those obtained with two model ternary solutions; the influence of salt on 1-butanol permeability was negligible, whereas ethanol had a strong effect.     

Pervaporative Dehydration of Organic Solvents

Abstract

Pervaporative separation of acetone/water and isopropanol (IPA)/water systems has been studied in the water-lean range of composition of the feed mixtures. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes crosslinked with citric acid, adipic acid, maleic acid, glutaraldehyde, and glyoxal were used for this purpose. The sorption characteristics of all the membranes indicate that these membranes have a good sorption selectivity for water in view of the hydrophilic nature of PVA. The type of crosslinker used for crosslinking has been shown to have an important bearing on the permeation characteristics of the membranes. Thus, the trifunctional citric acid yields the highest selectivity but lowest flux. A comparison of the productive capacities of the various membranes indicates that the glutaraldehyde crosslinked membrane has the maximum productive capacity for IPA dehydration whereas maleic acid crosslinked membrane yields the highest productive capacity for acetone dehydration.     

Formation of multilayer poly(acrylic acid)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) composite membranes for pervaporation

Dual‐ and multilayer composite membranes, consisting of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), were synthesized by the plasma‐induced polymerization technique. The dual‐layer membrane had a dense PAA layer grafted onto a microporous PVDF substrate, whereas in the multilayer membranes, the grafted PAA and the PVDF layers were arranged in an alternating sequence (e.g., PAA/PVDF/PAA and PAA/PVDF/PAA/PVDF/PAA). These membranes were used in a pervaporation process to separate ethanol–water solutions. For the dual‐layer membranes, the results indicated that the separation factor increased and the permeation flux decreased with increasing amounts of grafted PAA. For the case of grafting yield < 0.6 mg/cm², the composite membrane demonstrated poor separation. As the grafting yield reached 0.85 mg/cm², a sharp increase of the separation factor was observed. For the multilayer membranes, the pervaporation performances were very good, with high separation factors (on the order of 100) and reasonable permeation fluxes over a wide ethanol concentration range. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2266–2274, 2004