effect of temperature on isopropyl acetate production reaction using cross linked spek/ pva-silica nanocomposite membrane

Polyetherketone (pek) is a thermally stable polymer that shows excellent mechanical stability in aqueous environment# for dehydration purpose, membrane materials should display enough affinity for water# so that, in this study, a cross-linked sulfonated polyetherketone/poly(vinyl alcohol) /silica nanocomposite (with 10 wt#%) membrane was prepared by solution casting method and used in pervaporation dehydration of isopropyl acetate reaction mixture, in a batch mode# the property of the membrane was investigated by scanning electronic microscopy (sem)# the effect of the temperature was investigated on the pervaporation performance# results showed that with an increase in the temperture, the acid conversion as well as the separation factors and the water permeance rates were increased# maximum conversion rate was obtained for initial alcohol/acid molar ratio of 4:1, at 60 °c#