Blended Chitosan and Polyvinyl Alcohol Membrane for Pervaporation Separation Methanol/Methyl tert-Butyl Ether Mixture. (II) Effect of Operating Parameters

Blend chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol (pva) composite membranes were developed by mixing pva and chitosan solutions at appropriate ratios. pervaporation separation of the membrane was tested for methanol and mtbe mixture at different feed concentrations and temperature. the pervaporation performances were studied and evaluated and compared to the composite chitosan membrane. flux increased with the increasing concentration of methanol in the feed. separation factor was highest for the 20 wt% chitosan-containing blend membrane. the blend membrane containing 20-40 wt% of chitosan at feed temperature of 50°c exhibited permeation flux in between 52.28 g/m².hr to 66.92 g/m².hr with the separation factor of 53.22 to 81.00.