PERVAPORATION OF ETHANOL-WATER MIXTURE USING PVA ZEOLITE-CLAY MEMBRANES

The objective of this research is to study the effects of feed concentration and temperature on the pervaporation of ethanol-water mixtures using polyvinyl alcohol (pva) zeolite- clay membranes. the liquid feeds for the pervaporation were prepared using different weight concentrations of ethanol which were 10 wt%, 30 wt%, 50 wt%, 70 wt% and 90 wt% of ethanol. the pervaporation separations were conducted at different temperatures which were 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 °c. the pva zeolite-clay membranes were prepared by dissolving 0.2 wt% zeolite-clay powder and 5 wt% pva powder in distilled water. the solution was casted on a porous support to produce composite membrane. the support layers were produced through phase inversion process using casting-solution of 12 wt% polysulfone, 11 wt% methyl cellusolve and 77 wt% n,n-dimethylformamide (dmf). the membranes were used for the separation of ethanol-water mixtures via pervaporation. the results showed that, when the ethanol concentrations of feed and feed temperature increased, the selectivity increased but absorption (flux) decreased. the pva zeolite- clay composite membranes were relatively hydrophilic, mechanically strong and thus suitable to be used for the pervaporation separation of ethanol-water mixtures