Separation of ethanol/water mixtures by pervaporation through zeolite-filled polysulfone membrane containing 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane

Ethanol/water mixture is separated by pervaporation through a polysulfone (PSf) membrane filled with zeolite. The coupling agent effect of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) on the preparation of PSf/zeolite membrane was also studied. APTMS enhanced the contact of zeolite particles with PSf chains and suppressed the formation of microvoids in polymer-zeolite interface. The effects of zeolite type, zeolite loading, feed composition, coupling agent concentration, and treatment time of zeolite surface modification on the pervaporation performance were investigated. The pervaporation performance of the zeolite-filled PSf membranes was strongly affected by the zeolite type. In addition, the molecular sieving effect of zeolite seemed to take place when coupling agent concentration and treatment time increased. Compared with the PSf membrane, the PSf/zeolite 13X/ APTMS membrane effectively improved the pervaporation performances.