Pervaporation of volatile organohalogen compounds through polydimethylsiloxane membrane

The objective of this work was to apply dense polymeric membranes for pervaporation of tetrachloroethene from aqueous solution. Three membranes were evaluated: polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS-PV1 and PDMS-PV2) membranes, and a PDMS with ZSM-5 zeolite filled (PERVAP-1070) membrane. The effect of feed composition on flux and selectivity was also investigated.Tested membranes showed good properties in the separation of tetrachloroethylene, although better selectivity and enrichment of the permeate was achieved for both PDMS-PV1 and PDMS-PV2 membranes. Compared to PERVAP-1070, much higher fluxes were accomplished for both PDMS membranes.The results of experiments confirm that pervaporation applied to the separation of tetrachloroethylene from water is a very promising method. As a result of the process it is possible to achieve high concentrated permeate and almost complete removal of contamination.