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Title: Polyvinyl alcohol {gamma}-ray grafted nylon 4 membrane for pervaporation and evapomeation

Journal Article · · Separation Science and Technology
; ;  [1]
  1. Chun Yuan Univ., Chung Li (Taiwan, Province of China)

Nylon 4, which possesses high mechanical strength and good affinity for water, can be considered as a liquid separation membrane. To improve the hydrophilicity of a Nylon 4 membrane for pervaporation and evapomeation processes, and to overcome the hydrolysis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), this study attempts to prepare a PVA-g-Nylon 4 membrane by {gamma}-ray irradiation grafting of vinyl acetate (VAc) onto Nylon 4 membrane, followed by hydrolysis treatment. The effects of down-stream pressure, irradiation dose, VAc monomer concentration, degree of grafting, feed composition, and size of alcohols on the separation of water-alcohol mixtures were studied. The surface properties of the prepared membrane were characterized by FTIR, ESCA, and a contact angle meter. A separation factor of 13.8 and a permeation rate of 0.352 kg/m{sup 2}-h can be obtained for a PVA-g-Nylon 4 membrane with a degree of grafting of 21.2% for a 90-wt% ethanol feed concentration. Compared to the pervaporation process, the evapomeation process has a significantly increased separation factor with a decreased permeation rate for the same PVA-g-Nylon 4 membrane. 24 refs., 9 figs., 4 tabs.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
171421
Journal Information:
Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 28, Issue 7; Other Information: PBD: May 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English