PERVAPORATION CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER AND 2-PROPANOL IN SULFONATED POLYETHERSULFONE MEMBRANES

Pervaporation behaviors of water-2-propanol mixtures are examined usin g a polyethersulfone (PES) membrane and four kinds of sulfonated polye thersulfone (SPES) membranes with various contents of sulfonate groups . The fluxes of water and 2-propanol increase with increasing mole fra ction of sulfonate group, s, in the membrane. Based on the solution-di ffusion theory by considering water solubilities in the membranes, the fluxes of water and 2-propanol through these membranes were analyzed. There is no significant difference in the values of diffusion coeffic ients without swelling and the swelling parameters for water and 2-pro panol among these membranes. It is found that the separation factors f or various SPES membranes can be estimated from the parameter values f or PES membrane by expressing the mole concentration in the membrane u sing the s value.