Study of pervaporation in continuous regimen through aqueous solvent mixtures

Abstract

Membrane processes are advanced filtration processes that allow component separation using membrane mater ials . The technique funda mentally separate s a mixture of components physically , i.e. avoiding the need fo r additional chemicals to the feed stream to favour the separation Nowadays, the industrial use of membranes is increasing due to their low energy demand, high separation efficiency, and the ir ability to maintain efficiency while reducing the number of steps, among other benefits. Pervaporation ( is a membrane based process that uses a permselective membrane to separate liquid mixtures using pressure gradient as the driving force . It presents potential application in situations where other separa tion processes are unf easible (e.g. for separating mixtures of liquids with similar boiling points or azeotropic mixtures) mixtures). In ad dition, it can be eas ily scal ed up and integrated with ease with other unit operation , mak ing PV a versatile unit operation with realistic applicability in man y areas P V also plays a significant role in addressing the growing need to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activities, as it requires minimal energy consumption, and it does not generate waste products . Some important fields of application where p ervaporation stands up by its effective ness are separation of azeotropes, of substances with similar boiling points, of isomers, of heat sensitive liquid mixtures, of volatile organic comp ounds (VOCs), and of trace contaminants in industrial effluents. Other industrial applications include the separation of organic liquid mixtures, organic substance extraction from aqueous mixtures and solvent dehydration. This study focuses on evaluating the performance of PV in the separation of organic solvents , specifically acetone from aqueous solutions , operating in continuous mode. The effect of d ifferent operating conditions such as feed flow rate and acetone concentration will be assessed . In addition, the effectiveness of the same polysiloxane ( silicone membrane for separating other pure organic solvents , e.g. methanol, ethanol, 1 butanol, methyl tert butyl e ther (MTBE) MTBE), and a mixture with representative composition of the ABE (acetone, butanol and ethanol) fermentation process, has also been studied. The selectivity a d permeability of the membrane are found to depend on the molar fl ow, composition and chemical nature of the feed stream. Finally, a subjacent objective underneath this work is to provide data for implementing a laboratory practice of perva poration within the lab modules of the Chemical Engineering degree of the University of Barcelona.