Hydrophobic zeolite–silicone rubber mixed matrix membranes for ethanol–water separation: Effect of zeolite and silicone component selection on pervaporation performance

Capillary supported ultrathin homogeneous silicalite-poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposite membrane for bio-butanol recovery

“…This is by far the highest loading rate that can be obtained in terms of homogeneous mixed matrix membranes. Normally, due to the unavoidable aggregation of the fillers (nano-crystals of zeolites), it is difficult to obtain a loading rate higher than 30 vol.% [18]. This ultrathin and high-loading composite membrane offers the possibility to achieve a very high flux for pervaporation separation of butanol without obvious membrane swelling.…”

“…Since the introduction of silicalite-filled PDMS membranes by Te Hennepe et al [16], remarkable improvements on membrane performance due to incorporation of zeolites have been reported [9,[17][18][19]. Molecular sieving effects [20], hydrophobic/hydrophilic characters [21,22], and the so-called physical cross-linking functions of the zeolites [21,22] have been utilized to increase the selectivities and the stabilities of the composite membranes, also named as mixed matrix membranes (MMMs).…”

“…The simplest way to fabricate zeolite-polymer composite membrane is solution blending [23]. However, the tendency of the particle agglomeration is inversely related to the particle size [18] and hence the preparation of high-quality nanocomposite membranes is hampered. Well-known approaches, such as organic functionalization of the fillers (e.g.…”

Dynamically formed inner skin hollow fiber polydimethylsiloxane/polysulfone composite membrane for alcohol permselective pervaporation

“…Currently, about 90% fuel ethanol is produced by biological fermentation method. Generally, the ethanol content could reach 1-15 wt.% in the fermentation broth [5]. The relatively high ethanol concentration resists the fermentation process.…”

“…Therefore, in situ removal of ethanol from fermentation broth would result in more efficient fermentation. Distillation is traditionally used to recover ethanol from dilute fermentation solution, which has energy and capital cost disadvantages [5]. In recent decades, pervaporation has gained increasing attention for the recovery of ethanol from broth due to its operational simplicity, nontoxicity to microorganism, and economical superiority [6].…”