In the present work, aroma recovery of tropical fruit juice by pervaporation process was investigated using model solutes and different kinds of composite membranes. As feed solution, binary and quaternary synthetic aqueous solutions were used, as well as the single strength and the clarified pineapple juices. Composite membranes (flat or hollow fiber), prepared in laboratory or commercial ones, were used for comparison. The water permeability and the overall mass transfer coefficient for each organic solute were determined. The experimental pervaporation results were used as input for a simulation of a permeation unit, allowing a preliminary comparison of the different membranes investigated. Experimental and simulation results indicated that EPDM membranes presented the best performance. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.