Pervaporative separation of furfural from aqueous solution using modified polyurethaneurea membrane

Hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based modified polyurethaneurea membranes were prepared and used to study the furfural separation efficiency from dilute aqueous solution by pervaporation. The modification was done by incorporation of lithium chloride in the polymer matrix with subsequent leaching of the same in hot water, thereby creating pores on the membrane. The pervaporation performance of the synthesized membranes was studied with aqueous furfural solution as feed. The modified membrane was found to show a maximum furfural separation factor of 284 and a furfural flux of 41.5 g m− 2 h− 1. The effects of membrane porosity, feed composition and temperature on the membrane performance were also studied. Pore flow model was used to predict the permeate flux and permeate composition for the porous polyurethaneurea membrane.