A zeolite/polymer membrane for separation of ethanol‐water azeotrope

Abstract

Abstract A novel membrane effective in the separation of ethanol‐water mixtures by pervaporation was made by combining zeolite NaA and poly(vinyl chloride) modified by 2‐(2′‐butoxyethoxy)ethyl thiolate. Under ambient conditions, a separation factor (α ) of 29 and pervaporability ( P ) of 4 × 10 −4 g m −1 h −1 were obtained for the azeotropic mixture whereas, in the absence of zeolite, the respective values were 7 and 7 × 10 −5 . A mechanism was proposed relating the preferential water transport at ≈︁ 50% zeolite content to an interfacial “phase” between the zeolite and the modified polymer.