Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.11, No.2, 156-161, 2003
Study on pervaporation membranes for removing methanol from C-5 or methyl tert-butyl ether mixtures
Several pervaporation membranes, cellulose acetate (CA), polyvinylbutyral (PVB), poly(MMA-co-AA), MMA-AA-BA, CA/PVB blend and CA/poly(MMA-co-AA) blend, were prepared, and their pervaporation properties were evaluated by separation of methanol/C-5 or methanol/MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether). The results shows that the CA composite membrane has a high separation performance (flux J(methanol) = 350g(.)m(-2.)h(-1) and separation factor alpha > 400) for methanol/C-5 mixtures, and the pervaporation characteristics of MMA-AA-BA copolymer membranes changes with the ratio of copolymer. For CA/poly(MMA-co-AA) blend membrane, the pervaporation performance is improved in comparison with CA or poly(MMA-co-AA) membrane. From the experiment of CA/PVB blend membranes for methanol/MTBE mixture, it is found that the compatibility of blends may affect the separation features of blend membrane.