SYNTHESIS AND STUDY OF PERVAPORATION MEMBRANES DOPED WITH VARIOUS FILLERS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN SEPARATION OF ETHANOL-WATER MIXTURE

Abstract

For the manufacturing of ethanol from biomass or in the brewery sector, separation of ethanol-water mixtures is of great significance. Ultrafiltration processes as well as pervaporation procedures can be used to process fermentation and separation continuously. In this assessment, pervaporation accomplishes the removal of ethanol from the feed blend as it has a number of benefits over other procedures. Pervaporation membranes are successful in removing elements in dilute form.Efficiency of membrane can be depicted in terms of flux, sorption coefficient, separation factor and permeance. These variables are associated with the membrane thickness, temperature, and feed concentration. Initially membranes of different compositions are made using different fillers for the pervaporation process. Method of solution casting in situ polymerization is used. various crosslinking fillers are added to enhance the performance of the composite membrane. For pervaporation, the prepared membranes are tested. Higher flux is observed at low membrane thickness and increased water feed concentration and selectivity decreases at increased temperatures due to increased free volume, less viscosity and higher feed side pressure. Results are shown for membranes that are preferentially permeable to ethanol and others that are preferentially water-permeable .