Delaminated microporous aluminophosphate-filled polyvinyl alcohol membrane for pervaporation of aqueous alcohol solutions

Composite poly (vinyl alcohol) membranes containing delaminated microporous aluminophosphate with [Al3P4O16]3− stoichiometry (AlP) were prepared. Their pervaporation performance in separation of isopropanol/water and tert-butanol/water systems was measured and compared with zeolite NaA and NaX-filled membranes. Distinct improvement on the flux of permeation as well as separation factor of the polymer membranes was observed, showing that the positive contribution of the aluminophosphate filler is even greater than that of the zeolite fillers. The effect of AlP content, temperature and feed concentration on the pervaporation performance was investigated in detail. A re-dispersion phenomenon was observed, suggesting that the dispersion of the AlP layers could even occur during swelling of the polymer matrix and enhance the pervaporation process effectively.