Towards the dehydration of ethanol using pervaporation cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide membranes

Abstract

Highly hydrophilic inorganic material graphene oxide (GO) was successfully prepared and incorporated into a cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix. The obtained mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have been used for the dehydration of ethanol (10:90% water-ethanol) by pervaporation (PV), monitoring their performance in terms of total permeate flux, partial components fluxes, as well as their separation factor. The effect of filler was analyzed by doubling the GO content (at 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 wt.%) in the MMMs.A complete analysis of the operating temperature (between 40-70 ºC) was carried out by means of Arrhenius relationship. Moreover, the membranes were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), measurements of degree of swelling (uptake), water contact angle (CA) and mechanical properties. At 40 ºC, the best performance was provided by the MMMs containing 1 wt.% GO, showing a separation factor of 263 and a permeate flux of about 0.137 kg•m -2 •h -1 (in which 0.133 kg•m -2 •h -1 corresponds to water). This represents a 75 % enhancement of the original permeation rate of pristine cross-linked PVA membranes. Taking into account the promising results, it is likely that these MMMs will provide featured benefits in green processes, e.g. ethanol purification by means of less-energy consumption.

Effect of Temperature and Branched Crosslinkers on Supported Graphene Oxide Pervaporation Membranes for Ethanol Dehydration

“…The separation factors of the crosslinked GO membranes for various conditions are shown in Figure 7. Our separation factors are modest compared with those reported by others, such as Hua et al for aldehyde-crosslinked GO membranes [31] and Castro-Muñoz et al for PVA membranes incorporated with GO [53]. This is owing to the relatively high amount of ethanol diffusing into the permeate for our membranes, which is in the range of 55-65 wt% of permeate ( Figure 6) compared, for example, with 10-20% reported by Hua et al for feeds with similar (85% ethanol) composition [31].…”

A Sm-MOF/GO nanocomposite membrane for efficient organic dye removal from wastewater

“…3A and B. The diffraction peaks of GO and Sm-MOF were the same as those reported in literature 28,30 and appeared in the XRD patterns of the Sm-MOF/GO composites. As shown in Fig.…”

Current Advances in Biofouling Mitigation in Membranes for Water Treatment: An Overview

“…The authors reported that the enhancement was attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between PVP and GO. Besides improving the hydrophilicity of membranes; GO has been also identified as a potential candidate to enhance the water transport of membranes according to its unimpeded water permeation properties [83][84][85]. Finally, some other nanomaterials are also providing good insights to mitigate the fouling in membranes.…”