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PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE SILICONE RUBBER MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANES FOR ETHANOL-WATER PERVAPORATION
Citation:
NAMBOODIRI, V. V., T. BOWEN, AND L. M. VANE. PREPARATION AND APPLICATION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE SILICONE RUBBER MIXED MATRIX MEMBRANES FOR ETHANOL-WATER PERVAPORATION. Presented at 232nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10 - 14, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) and zeolite incorporated mixed matrix materials are gaining importance in a variety of applications including membrane separation. PDMS based membranes are used in pervaporation (PV), a membrane technology, for the selective removal of organics such as ethanol from water. PV is an alternative technology to traditional distillation, which may have energy and capital cost advantages, especially in smaller-scale systems for the production of fuel-grade ethanol. Ethanol production from renewable resources, such as biomass, is receiving much attention due to the high demand of alternate non-polluting fuel sources. Development of a membrane system with suitable flux and selectivity characteristics plays a critical role in achieving practical utility for pervaporation. The present study is focused on the development of high-performance high-silica ZSM-5 zeolite-incorporated mixed matrix PDMS membranes for ethanol removal from water. The effects of zeolite content, PDMS molecular weights, zeolite dispersion and membrane backing on the flux and separation factor will be discussed.