Developed Model Application to Aqueous—Organic and Purely Organic Separation and Purification Systems

Abstract

Reduced versions of the developed model are used to predict published membrane separation and purification trends of three organic systems involving polar and polar aprotic solvents. The model predicted the trends and presented the key parameters involved in the pervaporation of aqueous-ethanol solutions using unfluorinated and fluorinated polysiloxane-imide (PSI) membranes [1] as well as pervaporation of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and Butyl Acetate (BuAC) aqueous solutions using siloxane-urethane (SU) membranes [2]. Moreover, the model predicted the trends and presented key parameters of a polyimide (PI) nanofiltration membrane separation and purification processes involving organic solute (leucine) in the following organic solvents and mixtures; 1-butanol, 1-butanol and dimethylformamide (DMF), and 1-butanol and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) [3]. Ethanol and 1-butanol are polar protic organic solvent while MTBE, BuAC, DMF and NMP are polar aprotic organic solvents.