Pervaporation Separation of Organic-Aqueous and Organic-Organic Binary Mixtures

Abstract

Abstract In recent years membranes and membrane-related processes have gained much importance in several areas of science and technology. Intensive research activity has been pursued in this area all over the world in the past three decades. Among several membrane-related processes, the pervaporation (PV) technique is well known and has been used to separate mixtures of low molecular weight close-boiling organic liquids, aqueous-alcohol mixtures, and so on. Contrary to other membrane processes such as hyperfiltration and ultrafiltration, a phase transition occurs during the PV process. Consequently, the energy input of the process is at least equal to the heat of vaporization of the permeating liquids. This technique was first developed in the Research Center of the American Oil Company in Texas in the 1950s [1, 2], although the term was coined in 1917 by Kober of the New York State Department of Health at Albany. The technique has regained much attention since the early 1980s owing to membrane and process development efforts of the West German group led by Brueschke and Tusel.