Abstract
Butanol has shown potential as an alternative biofuel. It can be obtained through ABE fermentation, which produces 1-butanol, ethanol and acetone. Pervaporation is a potential separation process, since it can be successfully applied to remove trace components such as butanol, which is toxic to the cells. The development of an effective membrane is the limiting factor for this technology. Activated carbon-containing polydimethylsiloxane membranes were prepared by varying the filler content up to 2 wt%. The resulting membranes were characterized for the separation of model solutions with 1-butanol, acetone, ethanol and water by pervaporation. The effects of activated carbon load (0, 1, 2 wt%) and temperature (25, 40, 55oC) on flux and separation factor were evaluated. The addition of 1 wt% activated carbon increased membrane free volume, changed surface morphology and showed flux of 45 g/m2h, with separation factor for 1-butanol of 370, at 55oC.
Highlights
Butanol has emerged as a potential alternative biofuel both in the replacement of gasoline and as an intermediate in chemical synthesis, in accordance with the biorefinery concept[1]
The results showed that the addition of activated carbon content from 2 to 8 wt% caused an increase in membrane selectivity, while the flux showed a maximum value at 6 wt% of the filler
Our goal was the preparation and characterization of activated carbon dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane membranes aiming the separation of 1-butanol from model quaternary solutions by means of pervaporation
Summary
Butanol has emerged as a potential alternative biofuel both in the replacement of gasoline and as an intermediate in chemical synthesis, in accordance with the biorefinery concept[1]. The toxic content to the cells is reported in the literature to be above 20 g/L of 1-butanol in the fermentation broth[5]. One of the main promising technologies is pervaporation, a membrane-based process in which a liquid solution is fed to a module, the preferred permeant diffuses and evaporates through the membrane and is condensed in the permeate side. This method is ideal to remove trace components from the feed solution[9]. The advantage of pervaporation over other techniques is the use of mild conditions, especially regarded to temperature and pH, which is very important to prevent cell death in fermentation broths[10]
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