Abstract
Ethylene glycol (EG) is widely used in various economic and industrial fields. The demand for its efficient separation and recovery from water is constantly growing. To improve the pervaporation characteristics of a poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) membrane in dehydration of ethylene glycol, the modification with graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles was used. The effects of the introduction of various GO quantities into the PPO matrix on the structure and physicochemical properties were studied by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, scanning electron (SEM) and atomic force (AFM) microscopies, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), swelling experiments, and contact angle measurements. Two types of membranes based on PPO and PPO/GO composite were developed: dense membranes and supported membranes on a fluoroplast substrate (MFFC). Transport properties of the developed membranes were evaluated in the pervaporation dehydration of EG in a wide concentration range (10–90 wt.% and 10–30 wt.% water for the dense and supported membranes, respectively). The supported PPO/GO(0.7%)/MFFC membrane demonstrated the best transport properties in pervaporation dehydration of EG (10–30 wt.% water) at 22 °C: permeation flux ca. 15 times higher compared to dense PPO membrane—180–230 g/(m2·h)), 99.8–99.6 wt.% water in the permeate. The membrane is suitable for the promising industrial application.
Highlights
Ethylene glycol (EG) is widely used in the chemical, textile, automotive, and electrical industries [1]
Novel dense and supported mixed matrix membranes based on poly(2,6dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) modified with graphene oxide nanoparticles were developed for improved pervaporation dehydration of ethylene glycol
The introduction of graphene oxide (0.1–0.9 wt.%) into the PPO matrix improved permeation flux of the dense membranes with a slight decrease in selectivity with respect to water, compared to the unfilled PPO membrane in pervaporation dehydration of EG in a wide concentration range (10–90 wt.% water). These observations were related to the changes in the structure and physicochemical properties: the formation of a more amorphous structure of the membrane, rougher inner and surface morphology, and surface hydrophilization
Summary
Ethylene glycol (EG) is widely used in the chemical, textile, automotive, and electrical industries [1]. High-purity EG represents a valuable organic matter, so it is justified to extract and regenerate it from the wastewater. It is worth noting that EG production is usually carried out by hydrolysis of ethylene oxide in the presence of excess water [2]. The further concentration of EG by distillation becomes economically non-feasible, arduous, and energy-intensive, due to the lower water content in the vapor phase and a very high boiling point (197.3 ◦C) of ethylene glycol [2]. The use of pervaporation with the correct selection of a membrane with the tailored characteristics makes it possible to and energy-efficiently solve the problem of EG recovery from water [3]
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