PERVAPORATION OF AQUEOUS-ETHANOL SOLUTION THROUGH POLY(AMIDESULFONAMIDE)S (PASAS) MEMBRANES

Symmetric non-porous membranes derived from five poly(amidesulfonamide )s were prepared for the separation of ethanol-water mixtures by the u se of the pervaporation technique. It was found that water preferentia lly permeated through all PASA membranes in all ranges of feed composi tions. The relationship between the polymer structure and its pervapor ation performance will be discussed. The dependence of permeation rate on the feed composition was explained by the 'carrier-mediated' mecha nism. The effect of temperature on the pervaporation characteristics o f the materials was investigated in details. Experimental results reve aled that the polymer based on the diamino monomer containing the pipe razine moiety and isophthaloyl chloride emerged as the best system in terms of separation factor and permeation rate in the dehydration of e thanol. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.