Assessment of pervaporative separation of methyl acetate and methanol using organophilic membranes. (2nd February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lux, Susanne; Winkler, Thomas; Körbler, Magdalena; Siebenhofer, Matthäus
• Is Part Of: Chemical engineering science. Volume 158 (2017)
• Page Start: 500
• Page End: 508
• Publication Date: 2017-02-02
• Subjects: Organophilic pervaporation -- Methyl acetate -- Methanol -- Polydimethylsiloxane -- Polyoctylmethylsiloxane; Chemical engineering -- Periodicals; Génie chimique -- Périodiques; Chemical engineering; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 660
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2016.10.034
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0009-2509

Abstract

Abstract: The separation performance efficiencies of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based (PERVAP™ 4060, PDMS 04-075, and PDMS 04-123) and polyoctylmethylsiloxane (POMS)-based (POMS 05-119) organophilic composite membranes were investigated, examining the amount of methyl acetate recovered from binary methyl acetate–methanol mixtures. The effects of feed composition (at 50 °C) and feed temperature (40 °C, 50 °C, and 60 °C) were investigated. Based on temperature variation tests, the enthalpies of evaporation for methyl acetate and methanol were estimated. Additionally, an empirical model was built on the basis of the solution-diffusion transport equation and extended to account for swelling characteristics of the membrane. Whereas the membrane POMS 05-119 can be applied under the conditions described, particularly when the goal is to overcome the azeotropic barrier, separation performance of the PDMS-based membranes was inferior to the performance of a conventional flash distillation method. Highlights: Organophilic pervaporation of methyl acetate and methanol was investigated. Four commercially available membranes were tested. The active membrane material was polydimethylsiloxane and polyoctylmethylsiloxane. The POMS-based membrane could be used to separate the binary mixture. The separation capability of PDMS membranes lay below that of flash distillation.