Open    Access



Pervaporation of Toluene—n-Heptane Mixtures with Hybrid PVC Membranes Containing Inorganic Particles



Author(s)

Leila Aouinti and Denis Roizard

Full-Text PDF XML     940 Views

DOI:10.17265/2159-581X/2015.08.002

The design and preparation of hybrid mixed matrix membranes based on PVC (polyvinylchloride) were studied for the separation of toluene—n-heptane mixtures by pervaporation. PVC was chosen as the starting organic matrix because it is an inexpensive polymer, possessing a very high selectivity for aromatics. This property is due to the polar macromolecular structure that can induce a specific transfer of aromatic species compared with aliphatic species. To improve the performance of the PVC glassy structure, the incorporation of several inorganic micro- and nanoparticles in the polymer matrix was performed to prepare mixed matrix membranes. The results reported were obtained using several types of clay, i.e., Maghnite, Wyoming, Kaolin and Nanocor, with the goal of improving membrane permeability due to the hybrid network. Our results show that the transport properties of the modified PVC network can be drastically modified by the type and amount of particles used.

Mixed matrix membranes, aromatic permselectivity, pervaporation.