Pervaporation performance of composite poly(Dimethyl Siloxane) membrane for organic acid removal

Abstract

Pervaporation and vapour permeation are membrane-based processes for separating binary or multi-component mixtures of miscellaneous organic fluids. This membrane-based separation process can potentially be used for recovery of organic acids from waste stream. This method is effective since it is less energy consuming, low cost and high potential to recover organic acid from water mixture. Pervaporation utilizing Poly ( dimethylsiloxane) membrane (PDMS) for acetic acid removal. PDMS membrane is categorized as a dense and hydrophobic membrane, which restricts the water molecule and allows the permeation of other organic materials to pass through the membrane matrix. In this study, PDMS membrane was laboratory syntheisize. The preparation of the membrane was done by phase inversion-immersion precipitation method. N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was used as a solvent to dissolve the Polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) resins.The composition of solution is prepared in five different polymer concentrations which are (25-30)%. Membrane morphology and structure is analyzed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope ( FESEM) analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The best performance of membrane was coated with PDMS polymer. PDMS is prepared in ratio of 10:1 with it curing agent and mix with hexane as the solvent. Membrane is stick on the glass plate in slant position to do coating. The mixed solution is poured onto the membrane until it is fully coated and cure in oven. After coating the thin film, the membrane is ready to be used in pervaporation experiment. The membrane is tested in three different concentration of feed solution (10-30)% of acetic acid mixture. From the experiment had been carried out, PPSU 26.5 membrane showed the best performance