Permeation studies of tetrahydrofuran–water mixtures by pervaporation experiments

Pervaporative dehydration of tetrahydrofuran (THF) over the concentration range of 0–27 wt% water in feed has been studied using poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate) copolymer membrane. The permeate water flux and selectivity for water was measured over the same concentration range at 30, 40 and 50 °C. The membrane was found to exhibit reasonable water flux (76 g/m2 h) with high water selectivity (107.25) for dehydration of highly concentrated THF (1.13 wt% water in feed) at 30 °C. The activation energy for permeation was found to decrease linearly with increase in water concentration in feed after a certain feed concentration (above around 5 wt% water in feed). The permeation factor of water was found to be greater than unity signifying positive coupling effect of THF on water permeation.