Separation of Benzene/Cyclohexane Mixtures by Pervaporation Using Poly (Ethylene-Co-Vinylalcohol) and Carbon Nanotube-Filled Poly (Vinyl Alcohol-Co-Ethylene) Membranes

Abstract

Poly(ethylene-co-vinylalcohol) (E-VOH) and carbon nanotube-filled poly (vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (E-VOH/CNT) were used as membranes to separate benzene/cyclohexane mixtures by pervaporation technique. To reach this goal, E-VOH and E-VOH/CNT membranes were prepared by solvent casting method and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The swelling tests were used to study the mass transfer of the benzene/cyclohexane mixture and their pure components. The separation by pervaporation process was carried out at 25 °C in which the effect of CNTs incorporated into E-VOH matrix and the initial concentration of benzene in the feed on the permeate flux, j, and separation factor, β, performance was investigated. The results obtained were very promising, in which the integration of CNTs through E-VOH chains increased the absorption area and raised the flux to 740 g/m2∙h. The separation factor increased to 9.03 and the pervaporation separation reached an index of 5942.2 g/m2∙h for the azeotropic mixture during 3 h of the separation process. In contrast, for the unfilled E-VOH membrane, it was found that these parameters were a rise of 280 g∙m−2∙h−1, separation factor of 12.90 and pervaporation separation index of 3332.0 g/m2∙h, under the same conditions. Likewise, the calculation of the performance of the E-VOH/CNT membrane with regard to that of the unfilled membrane indicated 2.64 for the total flux and 0.70 for the separation factor. It was also revealed that the best compromise of the filled membrane in terms of total cumulative flux and separation factor is obtained for the feed containing the azeotropic mixture.

A Systematic Methodology for the Synthesis of Advanced Reactive Distillation Technologies

“…Separating benzene from cyclohexane is challenging because of their close boiling points and azeotrope. Various techniques have been investigated for the separation of the benzene–cyclohexane mixture. − Therefore, this case study explores the application of ARDT for a typical hydrogenation reaction. An overview of the cyclohexane system is summarized in Table S15 in the Supporting Information.…”

Extraction of Organic Volatile Pollutants in Over-Saturated Water by Pervaporation Technique Using a Poly (Dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sealer as a Membrane

“…The concentration of each component in the desorbed mixture after swelling at equilibrium was determined, and the selective absorption of the membrane factor, β abs i/mix , was calculated using Equation ( 9) [52,53]:…”

Prospects of co‐poly(biquinoline‐hydrazide‐imide)s for separation of benzene‐isopropanol mixture via pervaporation

“…11 Pervaporation is known as the most promising membrane technology for separation of liquid mixtures on the molecular level. [12][13][14][15][16] The advantages of this membrane technique include low energy consumption, resource saving, and ability to separate close-boiling liquids and azeotropic mixtures. 17 Separation of benzene-isopropanol (IPA) mixtures is among the most challenging and poorly investigated problems in membrane science.…”