A PDMS membrane with high pervaporation performance for the separation of furfural and its potential in industrial application

Abstract

Producing furfural based on the hydrolysis of biomass rich in hemicellulose is a sustainable technique; however, separating furfural from the hydrolysate by the conventional methods like distillation is energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly. Pervaporation, an energy-efficient ‘clean technology’, is thus suggested for the separation of furfural. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane was prepared using water as a solvent in the presence of a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS). Effects of feed concentration and temperature, thickness of the PDMS layer and operation time on pervaporation performance were investigated, and the apparent activation energies of furfural and water permeating through the membrane were calculated according to the Arrhenius-type equation. Permeate concentration and furfural flux reached 62.4 wt% and 3222.6 g m⁻² h⁻¹ when separating 6.5 wt% furfural aqueous solution at 95 °C. Compared to distillation, pervaporation by the PDMS membrane provided higher selectivity while consuming 70% less evaporation energy. Additionally, the PDMS membrane displayed more promising potential in industrial application than those reported in the literature due to its higher furfural flux.