Divinyl benzene cross‐linked HTPB‐based polyurethaneurea membranes for separation of p‐/o‐xylene mixtures by pervaporation

Abstract

AbstractCross‐linked hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)‐based polyurethaneurea (PU), HTPB‐divinyl benzene (DVB)‐PU, was synthesized by a three‐step polymerization process. It was first used as membrane material to separate p‐/o‐xylene mixtures by pervaporation (PV). The effects of the content of cross‐linker DVB, feed concentration, and operating temperature on the PV performance of HTPB‐DVB‐PU membranes were investigated. The membranes demonstrated p‐xylene permselectivity as well as high total flux. The introduction of DVB significantly enhanced the temperature resistance ability of the HTPB‐DVB‐PU membranes. With increasing DVB content, the separation factor increased while the total flux decreased a little. The highest separation factor reaches 2.01 and the total flux is 33 g/m2h with feed concentration of 10 wt % p‐xylene at 30°C. These PV performances with increasing DVB content were explained in terms of the view point of chemical compositions and physical structures of the HTPB‐DVB‐PU membranes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012