Dehydration of 1,4-dioxane through blend membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) and chitosan by pervaporation

Blend membranes prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan (CS) were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde and used in the pervaporation dehydration of 1,4-dioxane. Membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (X-RD) to assess, respectively, the intermolecular interactions, thermal stability and crystallinity. Equilibrium sorption studies were carried out in pure liquids and binary mixtures of different compositions of water + 1,4-dioxane mixtures to assess the polymer–liquid interactions. The crosslinked membrane showed a good potential in breaking the azeotrope of 82 wt.% aqueous 1,4-dioxane giving a selectivity of 117 with a reasonable water flux of 0.37 kg/m² h. The effect of operating parameters such as feed composition, membrane thickness and permeate pressure was evaluated.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blend membranes for pervaporation separation of water + isopropanol and water + 1,4-dioxane mixtures

Pervaporation (PV) separation of water + isopropanol and water + 1,4-dioxane mixtures has been attempted using the blend membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with 5 wt.% of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). These results have been compared with the plain PVA membrane. Both plain PVA and PVA/PMMA blend membranes have been crosslinked with glutaraldehyde in an acidic medium. The membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and universal testing machine. Pervaporation separation experiments have been performed at 30 °C for 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 wt.% of feed water mixtures containing isopropanol as well as 1,4-dioxane. PVA/PMMA blend membrane has shown a selectivity of 400 for 10 wt.% of water in water + isopropanol feed, while for water + 1,4-dioxane feed mixture, membrane selectivity to water was 104 at 30 °C. For both the feed mixtures, selectivity for the blend membrane was higher than that observed for plain PVA membrane, but flux of the blend membrane was lower than that observed for the plain PVA membrane. Membranes of this study are able to remove as much as 98 wt.% of water from the feed mixtures of water + isopropanol, while 92 wt.% of water was removed from water + 1,4-dioxane feed mixtures at 30 °C. Flux of water increased for both the feed mixtures, while the selectivity decreased at higher feed water concentrations. The same trends were observed at 40 and 50 °C for 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of water mixtures containing isopropanol as well as 1,4-dioxane feed mixtures, which also covered their azeotropic composition ranges. Membrane performance was studied by calculating flux (J_p), selectivity (), pervaporation separation index (PSI) and enrichment factor (β). Permeation flux followed the Arrhenius trend over the range of temperatures investigated. It was found that by introducing a hydrophobic PMMA polymer into a hydrophilic PVA, the selectivity increased dramatically, while flux decreased compared to plain PVA, due to a loss in PVA chain relaxation.     

Pervaporation separation of water + 1,4-dioxane and water + tetrahydrofuran mixtures using sodium alginate and its blend membranes with hydroxyethylcellulose—A comparative study

Sodium alginate and hydroxyethylcellulose blend membranes were prepared by solution casting, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde and urea–formaldehyde–sulfuric acid mixture. Crosslinking was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, while the blend compatibility was studied by differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy. Membranes were tested for pervaporation separation of feed mixtures ranging from 10 to 50 mass% water in water + 1,4-dioxane and water + tetrahydrofuran mixtures at 30 °C. For 10 mass% of the feed mixture, pervaporation experiments were also carried out at higher temperatures (40 and 50 °C). By increasing the temperature, a slight increase in flux with a considerable decrease in selectivity was observed for all the membranes and for both the mixtures. The blend membranes exhibited different pervaporation performance for both the binary mixtures investigated. For water + 1,4-dioxane mixture, the pervaporation performance did not improve much after blending, whereas for water + tetrahydrofuran mixture, the pervaporation performance has improved considerably over that of plain sodium alginate membrane.     

Pervaporation separation of water + isopropanol mixtures using novel nanocomposite membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) and polyaniline

Novel nanocomposite polymeric membranes containing nanosized (30–100 nm) polyaniline (PANI) particles dispersed in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were prepared and used in the pervaporation separation of water–isopropanol feed mixtures ranging from 10 to 50 mass% of water at 30 °C. Of the three nanocomposite membranes prepared, the membrane containing 40:60 surface atomic concentration ratio of PANI:PVA produced the highest selectivity of 564 compared to a value of 77 observed for the plain PVA membrane. Flux of the nanocomposite membranes was lower than those observed for the plain PVA membrane, but selectivity improved considerably. Membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The highest selectivity with the lowest flux was observed for 10 mass% water containing feed mixture. Flux increased with increasing amount of water in the feed, but selectivity decreased considerably. These results were attributed to the acid-doped PANI particles in the PVA membrane as a result of change in the micromorphology of the nanocomposite membranes. In addition, molar mass between cross-links and fractional free volume of the membranes are responsible for the varying membrane performance. Temperature effect on permeability was investigated for 10 mass% water containing feed with the membrane containing higher concentration of PANI particles, the presence of which could be responsible for varied effect of water permeation through the membrane. Membranes of this study could remove as much as 98% of water from the feed.     

Separation of 2-butanol–water mixtures by pervaporation through PVA–NYL 66 blend membranes

Blend membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and nylon 66 (NYL) were synthesized and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) and assessed for their suitability in dehydrating 2-butanol by pervaporation (PV). These blends were subjected to sorption studies to determine the extent of interaction and degree of swelling in pure liquids as well as binary mixtures. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out to investigate changes in crystallinity and thermal stability, respectively. The effect of experimental parameters such as feed water concentration, permeate pressure and barrier thickness on membrane flux and selectivity was evaluated. The membranes were found to have good potential for breaking the azeotrope of 27.6 wt.% water with a flux of 3.07 kg/m² h 10 μm and selectivity of 26.5. Selectivity was found to improve with decreasing feed water concentration and increasing membrane thickness, whereas opposite trends were observed in case of flux. Higher permeate pressure caused a reduction in both flux and selectivity. These effects were clearly elucidated.     

Modified poly(phenylene oxide) membranes for the separation of carbon dioxide from methane

Two types of poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) membranes were prepared: one by chemical modification through sulfonation using chlorosulfonic acid and another by physical incorporation with a heteropolyacid (HPA), viz., phosphotungstic acid. These membranes were tested for the separation of CO₂/CH₄ mixtures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to confirm the modified structure of PPO as well as to understand its interactions with gaseous molecules. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the membrane morphology. Thermal stability of the modified polymers was assessed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while the tensile strength was measured to evaluate their mechanical stability. Both chemical and physical modifications did not adversely affect the thermally and mechanical stabilities. Experiments with pure CO₂ and CH₄ gases showed that CO₂ selectivity (27.2) for SPPO increased by a factor of 2.2, while the PPO–HPA membrane exhibited 1.7 times increase in selectivity with a reasonable permeability of 28.2 Barrer. An increase in flux was observed for the binary CO₂/CH₄ mixture permeation with an increasing feed concentration (5–40 mol%) of CO₂. An enhancement in feed pressure from 5 to 40 kg/cm² resulted in reduced CO₂ permeability and selectivity due to the competitive sorption of methane. Both the modified PPO membranes were found to be promising for enrichment of methane despite exhibiting lower permeability values than the pristine PPO membrane.     

Different viscosity grade sodium alginate and modified sodium alginate membranes in pervaporation separation of water + acetic acid and water + isopropanol mixtures

Different viscosity grade sodium alginate (NaAlg) membranes and modified sodium alginate membranes prepared by solution casting method and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde in methanol:water (75:25) mixture were used in pervaporation (PV) separation of water+acetic acid (HAc) and water+isopropanol mixtures at 30 °C for feed mixtures containing 10–50 mass% of water. Equilibrium swelling experiments were performed at 30 °C in order to study the stability of membrane in the fluid environment. Membranes prepared from low viscosity grade sodium alginate showed the highest separation selectivity of 15.7 for 10 mass% of water in the feed mixture, whereas membranes prepared with high viscosity grade sodium alginate exhibited a selectivity of 14.4 with a slightly higher flux than that observed for the low viscosity grade sodium alginate membrane. In an effort to increase the PV performance, low viscosity grade sodium alginate was modified by adding 10 mass% of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with varying amounts of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) from 5 to 20 mass%. The modified membranes containing 10 mass% PEG and 5 mass% PVA showed an increase in selectivity up to 40.3 with almost no change in flux. By increasing the amount of PVA from 10 to 20 mass% and keeping 10 mass% of PEG, separation selectivity decreased systematically, but flux increased with increasing PVA content. The modified sodium alginate membrane with 5% PVA was further studied for the PV separation of water+isopropanol mixture for which highest selectivity of 3591 was observed. Temperature effect on pervaporation separation was studied for all the membranes; with increasing temperature, flux increased while selectivity decreased. Calculated Arrhenius parameters for permeation and diffusion processes varied depending upon the nature of the membrane.     

ORGANIC PERMSELECTIVE PERVAPORATION CHARACTERISTICS OF POLY(SILYLPROPYNE) AND COPOLYMER DENSE MEMBRANES

An investigation into the organic permselective separation through poly [1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne] (PTMSP) and (1-trimethylsily1)-1-(1-penta-methyl-disilyl)-1-propyne copoly-mer (TMSP-PMDSP) dense membranes was made to gain an insight into the effect ofthe chemical structure of membrane materials on pervaporation (PV) characteristics. Theresults show that the copolymer has a higher separation factor α_(org/water) but with a rela-tively lower value of flux J_t (g/m~2·h) than pure PTMSP. This phenomenon may be at-tributed to the introduction of side chain with large bulk volume in copolymer, whichbrought about a decrease of excess free volume and the improvement of diffesion selectivityto some extent. With the same molar concentration of organic liquids in feed, THF/watersolutions have the highest value of α_(org/water) as well as J_t in comparison with ethanol/water,iso-propanol/water and THF/water mixtures.     

Water and methanol permeation through short-side-chain perfluorosulphonic acid ionomeric membranes

The water and methanol transport into a short-side-chain perfluorosulphonic acid ionomeric (PFSI) membrane suitable for application in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), namely Hyflon^® Ion, was studied between 35 and 65 °C. In particular, the permeabilities of pure water, pure methanol and their mixtures at different temperatures were measured through pervaporation experiments, at various values of feed composition. Due to the presence of mutual interactions between permeants as well as among penetrants and polymeric matrix, the composition of the feed solution affects the membrane permeability in a way which cannot be predicted on the basis of permeability data of the pure liquid components alone. It has been found in particular that the presence of the water in the mixture enhances the methanol permeability, due to the positive effects of matrix plasticization and favourable energetic interactions. In turn, by considering water permeability data in the presence of a poorly permeating component such as glycol, it can be concluded that also water permeation is enhanced by the presence of methanol, although to a lower extent.     

Effect of copolymer type and composition on separation characteristics of pervaporation membranes—A case study with separation of acetone–water mixtures

Five different copolymer membranes, i.e. copolymer of acrylonitrile with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PANHEMA), vinyl acetate (PANVAC) and methyl methacrylate (PANMMA) and styrene with vinyl acetate PSTYVAC) and methyl methacrylate (PSTYMMA) were synthesized, each with two different copolymer compositions (i.e. PANHEMA-1, PANHEMA-2, etc.). The copolymer membranes were synthesized on the basis of their relative solubility parameters with respect to acetone and hydrophilicity with respect to water. These membranes were used for pervaporative dehydration of acetone over the entire concentration range of 0–100 wt% water as well as acetone separation over 0–44 wt% acetone in feed. The acrylonitrile copolymers showed water selectivity with maximum water flux and selectivity for PANHEMA-2 copolymer (29.3 g/(m² h), 16.73, respectively, for 2.5 wt% water in feed) while the styrene copolymers showed maximum acetone selectivity with reasonable acetone flux for PSTYMMA-1 copolymer (7.12 g/(m² h), 12.61, respectively, for 1.6 wt% acetone in feed) membrane. The influence of one permeant on permeation of the other permeant was also studied in terms of permeation factor.     

Pervaporation separation of aqueous chlorophenols by a novel polyurethane urea–poly (methyl methacrylate) interpenetrating network membrane

A novel polymer membrane system consisting of interpenetrating network (IPN) of hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based polyurethane urea (PUU)–poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) has been designed and developed as highly permselective membrane for pervaporation separation of toxic p-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol from their dilute aqueous solutions. It was observed that 3 ppm 2,4-dichlorophenol in water could be reduced to 0.3 ppm 2,4-dichlorophenol using a PUU–PMMA IPN membrane of 28 cm² area and 150 μm thickness. This membrane has shown high selectivity towards p-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol at very low concentration in feed. Feed concentration of p-chlorophenol was varied from 1000 to 7000 ppm and that of 2,4-dichlorophenol was varied from 3 to 4000 ppm. Fifty seven percent 2,4-dichlorophenol in permeate was obtained from 3 ppm concentration in feed compared to 87% 2,4-dichlorophenol in permeate from 1000 ppm in feed. Pervaporation studies were carried out by varying the temperature of feed, membrane thickness and PMMA content in the membrane. The results of this investigation have revealed that these membranes would be suitable for separation of chlorophenols from industrial effluents.     

Maleic Anhydride Crosslinked Alginate-Chitosan Blend Membranes for Pervaporation of Ethylene Glycol-Water Mixtures

Calcium alginate-chitosan (CA/CS) blended membranes were prepared and crosslinked with maleic anhydride (MA) for the pervaporation (PV) separation of ethylene glycol (EG)/water mixtures at 30°C. The structure and properties of blend membranes were studied with the aid of FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM. The effect of experimental parameters such as feed composition, membrane thickness, and permeate pressure on separation performance of the MA crosslinked membranes were determined in terms of flux, selectivity, and pervaporation separation index. Sorption studies were carried out to evaluate the extent of interaction and degree of swelling of the blend membranes in pure, as well as in binary mixtures. The experimental results suggested that the crosslinked membrane (M-CA/CS) exhibited a good selectivity of 302 at a normalized flux of 0.38 kg.m^{? 2}.h^{? 1}.10 μ m at 30°C for 96.88 wt% EG aqueous solution.     

Development of polyelectrolyte complexes of chitosan and phosphotungstic acid as pervaporation membranes for dehydration of isopropanol

Using a solution technique, chitosan-based polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) were developed as pervaporation membranes by incorporating phosphotungstic acid (PTA). The resulting membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Membranes were tested for their ability to separate water–isopropanol mixtures by pervaporation in the temperature range of 30–50 °C. The experimental results demonstrated that both flux and selectivity were increased simultaneously with increasing PTA content in the membrane. The permeation flux of pure chitosan membrane was increased dramatically from 4.13 to 11.70 × 10⁻² kg/m² h and correspondingly its separation factor was increased from 4490 to 11,241 and then decreased to 7490 at 30 °C for 10 mass% of water in the feed. The total flux and flux of water were found to be almost overlapping particularly for PECs membranes, suggesting that these could be used effectively to break the azeotropic point of water–isopropanol mixtures. From the temperature dependency of diffusion and permeation values, the Arrhenius activation parameters were estimated and discussed in the context of membranes efficiency. The pure chitosan and a small amount of PTA-incorporated PECs membranes exhibited positive heat of sorption while other PECs membranes exhibited negative heat of sorption, giving exothermic contribution.     

The permselectivity of ion-exchange membranes for non-electrolyte liquid mixtures. II. The effect of counterions (separation of alcohol/water mixtures with nafion membranes)

The effect of counterions on the transport of alcohol/water mixtures through a Nafion ion-exchange membrane is reported. Correlations between the counterions and the membrane's selectivity, permeability and the permeate's state of existence in the membrane were established. The membrane's selectivity toward water, in steady state pervaporation experiments, is much higher than that recorded in sorption experiments when employing an isopropanol/water azeotropic composition as the feed mixture. The values recorded for the apparent energy of activation are conspicuously low and follow the order Cs >K >Na. For all counterions the membrane exhibits a large fraction of free water (freezing water). A substantial freezing-point depression was recorded following the counterion series H > Li > Na > K ≈ Cs. The Cs⁺ version exhibits freezing at 0°C. The swollen membrane equilibrated with the feed mixture shows multiple freezing points, indicative of the heterogeneous nature of the membrane.     

丙烯酸交联壳聚糖渗透汽化膜研究（Ⅱ）──乙醇／水混合液的渗透汽化分离性能

丙烯酸交联壳聚糖渗透汽化膜研究（Ⅱ）──乙醇／水混合液的渗透汽化分离性能钟伟，李文俊，葛昌杰，陈新（复旦大学高分子科学系，上海，２００４３３）关键词交联壳聚糖，渗透汽化，丙烯酸，乙醇／水混合液混合液体的渗透汽化（简称ＰＶ）膜分离自８０年代实现工业化以...     

Blended chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol membranes for the pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol

Homogeneous membranes were prepared by casting the solution of blended chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) on a glass plate. The percent weight of chitosan in the membrane was varied from 0 to 100%. The membrane thickness was in the range of 15–30 μm. The membranes were heat treated at 150 °C for an hour. After that the membranes were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde and sulfuric acid in acetone aqueous solution. The membranes were tested at 30–60 °C for dehydration performance of 50–95% isopropanol aqueous solutions. At around 90% of isopropanol in the feed mixture, permeate flux increased whereas the percent of water in permeate tended to decrease when the feed temperature increased for all membranes, except that the water content in permeate from the membrane containing 75 wt.% chitosan remained constant. The swelling degree in water and the total flux increased with increasing chitosan content in membranes. The effect of temperature on permeate flux followed the Arrhenius relationship. The permeate flux decreased when isopropanol in the feed increased for all membranes. However, water content in permeate and isopropanol concentration in the feed formed complex relationship for different chitosan content membranes. Sorption did not appear to have significant effects on separation. The membrane containing chitosan 75% performed the best. For a feed solution containing 90% isopropanol at 60 °C, the permeate flux was 644 g/m² h with water content of nearly 100% in the permeate. At 55% isopropanol in the feed at 60 °C, the permeate flux was 3812 g/m² h. In the range of 55–95% of isopropanol in the feed, the water content in permeate was more than 99.5%. This membrane showed very excellent performance with good mechanical strength. It is promising to develop this membrane for industrial uses.     

Pervaporation separation of aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbons by crosslinked poly(methyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) membranes

Copolymers of methyl acrylate and acrylic acid were synthesized to fabricate membranes ionically crosslinked using aluminum acetylacetonate for the separation of toluene/i-octane mixtures by pervaporation at high temperatures. The formation of the ionic crosslinking via bare aluminum cations was characterized by UV–VIS spectroscopy and solubility tests. Reproducibility and the reliability of the methodology for membrane formation and crosslinking were confirmed. The effects of acrylic acid content, crosslinking conditions, pervaporation temperature, and feed composition on the normalized flux and the selectivity for toluene/i-octane mixtures were determined. A typical crosslinked membrane showed a normalized flux of 26 kg μm m⁻² h⁻¹ and a selectivity of 13 for a 50/50 wt.% feed mixture at 100°C. The pervaporation properties including solubility selectivity and diffusivity selectivity are discussed in terms of swelling behavior. The performance of the current membranes were benchmarked against other membrane materials reported in the literature.     

Binding properties of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid-imprinted polymers prepared with different molar ratios between template and functional monomer

Several molecularly-imprinted polymers binding the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) were prepared with a molar ratio between the functional monomer and the template molecule in the pre-polymerisation mixture set between 1+2 and 20+1. The functional monomer used was 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP), the cross-linker was ethylene dimethacrylate, and the porogenic solvent was a mixture of methanol–water 3+1 (v/v). The polymers obtained were grinded, sieved and packed in 100 mm×3.9 mm HPLC columns. The effects of the mobile phase composition were evaluated by eluting the columns with acetonitrile–water mixtures. The results obtained indicate that column capacity, selectivity factor and the imprinting effect are controlled by ion-pair and hydrophobic interactions between the analyte and the stationary phase. In the full range of ratios considered, column capacity, selectivity factor and imprinting effect are inversely proportional to the molar ratio between the template molecule and the functional monomer.     

Viscosities of oxalic acid and its salts in water and binary aqueous mixtures of tetrahydrofuran at different temperatures

Relative viscosities for the solutions of oxalic acid and its salts, viz. ammonium oxalate, sodium oxalate and potassium oxalate, at different concentrations have been determined in water and in binary aqueous mixtures of tetrahydrofuran (THF) [5, 10, 15 and 20% by weight of THF] at 298.15 K, and in water and in 5% (w/w) THF + water at five different temperatures. The data have been evaluated using the Jones-Dole equation and the obtained parameters have been interpreted in terms of solute-solute and solute-solvent interactions. The activation parameters of viscous flow have been obtained which depicts the mechanism of viscous flow. The oxalic acid and its salts behave as structure breakers in water and in binary aqueous mixtures of THF.     

Polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) vesicle size control using solution properties and hydrophilic block length

Polymeric vesicles have attracted considerable attention in recent years, since they are a model for biological membranes and have versatile structures with several practical applications. In this study, we prepare vesicles from polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) block copolymer in dioxane/water and dioxane/THF/water mixtures. We then examine the ability of additives (such as NaCl, HCl, or NaOH), solvent composition, and hydrophilic block length to control vesicle size. Using turbidity measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we show that larger vesicles can be prepared from a given copolymer by adding NaCl or HCl, while adding NaOH yields smaller vesicles. The solvent composition (ratio of dioxane to THF, as well as the water content) can also determine the vesicle size. From a given copolymer, smaller vesicles can be prepared by increasing the THF content in the THF/dioxane solvent mixture. In a given solvent mixture, vesicle size increases with water content, but such an increase is most pronounced when dioxane is used as the solvent. In THF-rich solutions, on the other hand, vesicle size changes only slightly with the water concentration. As to the effect of the acrylic acid block length, the results show that block copolymers with shorter hydrophilic blocks assemble into larger vesicles. The effect of additives and solvent composition on vesicle size is related to their influence on chain repulsion and aggregation number, whereas the effect of acrylic acid block length occurs because of the relationship among the block length, the width of the molecular weight distribution, and the stabilization of the vesicle curvature.