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Pervaporation membranes were fabricated by blending different amount of zeolite NaA or NaX with three types of poly(amidesulfonamide) (PASA). The zeolitefilled membranes were characterized by IR spectroscopy, SEM, sorption measurements, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. By adding the proper amount of NaA into the polymer casting solutions, the resultant zeolite-filled membranes exhibited improvement in both selectivity and permeability in the separation of 10% aqueous solutions of ethanol and propan-1-ol, as compared with the zeolite free membrane.

Pervaporation membranes derived from seven homopolymers of poly(amide-sulfonamide)s (PASAs) were prepared by casting 10-17% polymer solutions of N,N-dimethylacetamide. The membranes were characterized by sorption experiments, scanning electron microscope, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction. During the pervaporation of 90 wt % aqueous solution of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol, all membranes were preferentially permeable to water, and their separation factors were mainly dependent on the molecular weight of the solvent. The exact structure of the PASAs had a profound effect on their pervaporation characteristics. Polymeric membrane based on N,N-bis(4-aminophenylsulfonyl)-1,3-diaminopropane and isophthaloyl chloride exhibited the best selectivity factor of 1984 for a 10 : 90 (by weight) mixture of water/ethanol at 20ЊC. However, the permeation rates of all materials for dehydration of 90 wt % ethanol were slow in a range of 6.6-34.4 g m 02 h 01 .

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Being the first full scale cooperation in higher education between the Mainland and Hong Kong, the United International College (uic) positioned itself as “A New liberal Arts College” to help the country diversify her higher education landscape as part of education reform. While attempting to retain the defining characteristics of a us-style liberal arts college—caring for students, small class sizes, broad based curricula, facilitating cross fertilization of ideas, uic strongly emphasizes Chinese traditional culture, literature, history and Chinese thoughts through the ages, in addition to helping students acquire an international outlook. This is deemed essential not only because the students should learn about their own cultural heritage, but also they should treasure the wisdom of traditional Chinese thinking that could lend a helping hand to solving many problems the world faces today. It is gratifying to see that, after 10 years’ experimentation, the traditional western liberal arts education could be realized in the Chinese traditional culture context. In particular, the Confucius education philosophy could help nurture the whole person—junzi (君子), which is the overarching education goal of uic.