PERVAPORATION OF AQUEOUS ETHANOL SOLUTION S BY AROMATIC POLYIMIDE HOLLOW-FIBER

Experimental data of the pervaporation of aqueous ethanol solutions th rough aromatic polyimide hollow fiber were obtained. The effects of te mperature, pressure and the composition of aqueous ethanol solution on permeability and selectivity were experimentally examined. The values of the separation factor of water were between 16-55. It was found th at the overall permeation coefficient defined with fugacity difference across a membrane was the most rational for the simple evaluation of permeation fluxes in polymide, because the values of the permeation co efficient defined with the fugacity difference were kepe constant for the data over wide ranges of feed compositions and temperatures. The p ermeation coefficient for water was three times that in vapor permeati on at higher temperature, and that for ethanol was twenty times higher .