Pervaporative separation of butanol using a composite PDMS/PEI hollow fiber membrane

• Separation and purification of butanol was carried out as a feasibility study.
• Composite hollow fiber membrane having the active layer of PDMS/PEI was used.
• Pervaporation results showed higher than those of the reported results.
• Butanol was concentrated by the pervaporation for the biofuel applications.

In the study, the separation and purification of butanol was carried out using the composite hollow fiber membrane having the active layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on the macroporous support of polyetherimide (PEI). The pervaporation results with the initial butanol concentration showed a trade-off between flux and separation factor. However, both the flux and the separation factor increased as the operating temperature increased. The pervaporation results showed the butanol flux and the separation factor were higher than those of the reported results. In this study, butanol was concentrated by the pervaporation as a feasibility study for the biofuel applications.

In the influence of the initial butanol concentration on the flux through the pervaporation membrane, the butanol flux increased linearly with the increasing initial butanol concentration at lower initial feed concentration than 2% butanol.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide