Synthetic PDMS composite membranes for pervaporation dehydration of ethanol

Cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes supported on cellulose acetate (CA) and polyamide (PA) microfiltration membranes were prepared by pre-wetting technique for pervaporation (PV) dehydration of ethanol. Laboratory CA supports were initially prepared and characterized and compared with commercial PA supports. The experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of support layer and permselective thickness on the separation performance of membranes at different operating conditions particularly initial ethanol concentrations (0.3-3.0 wt.%) and temperatures (30-50 degrees C). The results revealed that increasing feed concentration and temperature increases total permeation flux. PDMS/PA membrane showed better overall performance than PDMS/CA membrane.