Novel Composite Membranes Based on Chitosan Copolymers with Polyacrylonitrile and Polystyrene: Physicochemical Properties and Application for Pervaporation Dehydration of Tetrahydrofuran

Abstract

Pervaporation has been applied for tetrahydrofuran (THF) dehydration with novel composite membranes advanced by a thin selective layer composed of chitosan (CS) modified by copolymerization with vinyl monomers, acrylonitrile (AN) and styrene, in order to improve the chemical and mechanical stability of CS-based membranes. Composite membranes were developed by depositing a thin selective layer composed of CS copolymers onto a commercially-available porous support based on aromatic polysulfonamide (UPM-20®). The topography and morphology of the obtained materials were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). Thermal properties and stability were determined by coupled evolved gas analysis (EGA-MS). Transport properties were estimated in pervaporation dehydration of THF. The effect of operating parameters for the pervaporation dehydration of THF such as feed compositions and temperatures (295, 308 and 323 K) was evaluated. It was shown that CS modification with different vinyl monomers led to a difference in physical and transport properties. The composite membrane with the thin selective layer based on CS-PAN copolymer demonstrated optimal transport properties and exhibited the highest water content in the permeate with a reasonably high permeation flux.

Effect of the Formation of Ultrathin Selective Layers on the Structure and Performance of Thin-Film Composite Chitosan/PAN Membranes for Pervaporation Dehydration

“…Membrane processes are an alternative to traditional separation methods. Pervaporation is one of the most efficient membrane methods for the separation of low molecular weight liquid mixtures, which is widely used for the dehydration of alcohols and other organic substances [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ] and characterized by high efficiency with low energy consumption, a compact equipment, environmental friendliness and the ability of the automation [ 10 ]. Pervaporation is also a promising and perspective technology for the separation of azeotropic mixtures without application of additional reagents.…”

Strongly Selective Polymer Membranes Modified with Heteroarm Stars for the Ethylene Glycol Dehydration by Pervaporation

“…Pervaporation as a membrane-based separation method has attracted much attention due to its high efficiency, low energy consumption, and environmental friendliness [5][6][7][8]. Currently, researchers have highlighted the use of pervaporation for the purification of EG from water impurities, opening up great potential for highly pure EG production using membranes from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/zeolite 4A mixed matrix composite [9], chitosan/polysulfone composite membrane [10], dual-layer polybenzimidazole/polyetherimide membranes [11], membranes based on 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (Bmim)(BF40 infiltrated into a buckypaper [12].…”

Molecularly Imprinted Chitosan-Based Thin Films with Selectivity for Nicotine Derivatives for Application as a Bio-Sensor and Filter

“…Despite the promising and evidenced utilization of Chitosan in paper-sizing [ 1 ], the food industry [ 2 ], pharmaceuticals, Veterinary medicine [ 3 , 4 ] medicine [ 5 , 6 ], separation processes [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], and energy systems such as fuel cells [ 10 , 11 ], and at different application sizes such as the Nano and micro scales [ 12 , 13 , 14 ], as well as in the area of molecular imprinting [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], its extensive use in a diversified industrial economy has been limited due to its hydrophilic nature and narrow application temperature tolerance.…”