Poly (caprolactone)/poly (ethylene glycol) pervaporation blend membranes: Synthesis, characterization, and performance

Abstract

Poly (caprolactone) membranes with addition of different poly (ethylene glycol) concentrations were prepared for separation of water/isopropanol azeotropic mixture by pervaporation process. Different characterization tests including Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle, and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out on the prepared membranes. In addition, the effect of poly (ethylene glycol) PEG content on the swelling degree and the performance of the prepared membranes in pervaporation process were investigated. According to the obtained results, all the membranes were water selective and the blend membrane containing 3 wt% PEG exhibited the best pervaporation performance with a water flux of 0.517 kg/m2 hour and separation factor of 1642 at the ambient temperature. Hydrophilicity improvement of the blend membranes was confirmed by constant decrease in water contact angle of the membranes as PEG content increased in the casting solution. Scanning electron microscopy cross‐sectional images indicated that the blend membranes containing PEG had a closed cellular structure. Furthermore, mechanical and thermal properties of the membranes decreased by adding PEG.

Zein Protein Obtained from Maize as a Novel Biodegradable Membrane Material for Oxygen/Nitrogen Separation: Membrane Fabrication and Characterization

“…With almost equal elongation at break to PBS [39] and CA [43], the tensile strength of the zein membrane is nearly two times and four times as high, respectively (the elastic modulus was not reported for PBS and CA). Although a significantly higher elongation at break is reported for PCL [40], the tensile strength and elestic modulus of the zein membrane are remarkably higher.…”

Effect of Domain Structure of Segmented Poly(urethane-imide) Membranes with Polycaprolactone Soft Blocks on Dehydration of n-Propanol via Pervaporation

“…The results presented in this work demonstrate the promising potential of PUI membranes in the separation of a water/alcohol mixture when compared to homopolymer membranes with a comparable chemical composition, which are used for the same purpose, see Figure 8. As can be found in the literature, membranes based on PCL demonstrate high permeability but very low selectivity during dehydration of i -propanol [51] or ethanol [52] via pervaporation. This can be connected with the low density of this polymer and hydrophobic nature of the –CH 2 ) 5 – parts of its backbone.…”

Effect of Nanofillers on Properties and Pervaporation Performance of Nanocomposite Membranes: A Review

“…. In general, applications of the PV process may be classified into the following three categories [4,5,11,[16][17][18][19]:…”

“…However, in spite of the above advantages of nanocomposite membranes, there are a few limitations which cannot be neglected. One of the main In general, applications of the PV process may be classified into the following three categories [4,5,11,[16][17][18][19]:…”