Pervaporation separation of methyl tert-butyl ether/methanol mixtures using a high-performance blended membrane

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 64; no. 5; pp. 875 - 882
• Main Authors: Niang, Mbaye, Luo, Guangsheng, Schaetzel, Pierre
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 02.05.1997; Wiley
• Subjects: Applied sciences; blended membrane; cellulose esters; Exact sciences and technology; Exchange resins and membranes; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; methanol; methyl tert-butyl ether; pervaporation; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Technology of polymers; Ether; Property composition relationship; Temperature effect; Selective permeability; Cellulose mixed ester; Membrane; Cellulose organic ester; Cellulose acetate; Experimental study; Mixture; Methanol; Pervaporation
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4628(19970502)64:5<875::AID-APP7>3.0.CO;2-M

For the separation of methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE) and methanol mixtures, we investigated the pervaporation performance of a blend membrane made from cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate hydrogen phthalate. At first the influence of the blend composition was studied with a certain feed mixture. We found that all the tested membranes permeate methanol preferentially. The selectivity increases and the permeation rate decreases with increasing cellulose acetate content in the blend. Therefore, an optimal blend composition of 30 wt % in cellulose acetate was chosen to evaluate the influence of the feed composition and the experimental temperature on the pervaporation performance. When the feed temperature or the methanol content in the feed increases, the permeation rates are greatly enhanced and the selectivity decreases. However, the temperature effect is more significant at low methanol content in the feed and becomes negligible at high methanol content in the feed where plasticity effects prevail. A comparison, carried out with all the membranes until now used for the separation of MTBE/methanol mixtures, showed that the blended membrane studied in this present work presents good permselective properties. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 875–882, 1997