Pervaporation characteristics of trichlorinated organic compounds through Silicalite-1 zeolite membrane

Silicalite-1 membrane synthesized on the inside of a porous stainless steel tube was used for pervaporation of trichloromethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene from their aqueous solutions. Fluxes of trichloromethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene were observed to be 3.0∼39.8 g/m2/h, 0.3∼4.6 g/m2/h and 0.1∼2.0 g/m2/h while their separation factors were 16.4∼29.6, 4.2∼10.3 and 5.7∼18.1, respectively depending on the mole fraction of a trichlorinated organic compound in the feed solution and the operating temperature. The silicalite-1 membrane showed the best separation ability for trichloromethane, since trichloromethane has the smallest kinetic diameter and the highest fugacity among the trichlorinated organic compounds.