Pervaporation dehydration of fusel oil with sulfated polyelectrolyte complex hollow fiber membrane

Abstract

Abstract Recycling and utilizing fusel oil, the by-product of ethanol fermentation, is of significant importance for both environmental and economic perspective. In this study, cross-linked sulfated polyelectrolyte complex hollow fiber membranes were applied to pervaporative remove the water in fusel oil. The membranes were fabricated from chitosan and dextran sulfate sodium via the “complexation–sulfation” method followed by chemical cross-linking and surface coating. The membrane preparation condition and pervaporation operation condition were optimized to achieve satisfactory alcohol dehydration performance. Where a high flux of 1354 gm−2 h−1 and a permeate water content of 99.4 wt% in dehydrating 10 wt% ethanol/water mixture at 60 °C was achieved. Moreover, when applied in actual fusel oil dehydration, the organics content in feed can be increased from 90 to 99 wt% with high efficiency and excellent water selectivity (water content in permeate always above 98.5 wt%). This research offered an effective approach to remove water in multi-component fusel oil.