Butanol Isomer Separations
Polyamide–imide membranes with surface immobilized cyclodextrin for butanol isomer separation via pervaporation
(1470–1484)AIChE Journal 57 #6 (2011)
Wang, Chung and Wang of the National University of Singapore, China, synthesized a novel cyclodextrin (CD) derivative, m-xylenediamine-β-cyclodextrin (m-XDA-β-CD) which was grafted to a membrane surface for the pervaporation separation of butanol isomers. The as-fabricated novel CD-grafted polyamide-imide (PAI) membranes show homogeneous morphology and significant improved separation performance as compared to the unmodified PAI membranes and PAI/CD mixed matrix membranes made of physical blends. The optimal separation performance can be found with the CD-grafted PAI membrane cast from a 22 wt % dope concentration, which exhibits a total butanol flux of 15 g/m2/h and a separation factor of 2.03. This newly developed membrane with surface-immobilized CD may open new perspective for the development of next-generation high-performance pervaporation membranes for liquid separations. (RDC 5/5/2011)