Pervaporation separation of ethyl acetate from aqueous solutions using ZSM-5 filled dual-layer poly(ether-block-amide)/polyethersulfone membrane

Abstract

In the present study, dual-layer mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were prepared by incorporating ZSM-5 zeolite into poly(ether-block-amide) (PEBA) as an active layer on the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane as a support layer for pervaporation separation of ethyl acetate (EAc) from EAc/water mixtures. The ZSM-5 zeolite nanoparticles were synthesized by the hydrothermal technique and characterized using XRD, XRF and FESEM analysis. The ATR-FTIR, SEM, DSC and contact angle tests were used to characterize the fabricated MMMs. The effect of ZSM-5 concentration on the performance of the membranes was investigated by the pervaporation experiments and the results showed that loading 10% wt% ZSM-5 into the PEBA matrix had the best separation performance. The effect of feed concentration (1–5 wt%) and operating temperature (30–50 °C) on the separation factor and permeation flux of the neat PEBA/PES and PEBA/PES membranes containing 10 wt% ZSM-5 were studied at laminar and turbulent feed flow regimes. Analysis of variance was used to investigate the interaction effect of EAc concentration and temperature on the performance of the prepared membranes. It was observed that both feed concentration and temperature had positive effects on the total permeation flux and separation factor. The ZSM-5/PEBA/PES membrane containing 10 wt% ZSM-5 showed a separation factor and total flux of 124.94 and 1882 g m⁻² h⁻¹ at laminar flow and 134.22 and 1985 g m⁻² h⁻¹ at turbulent flow, respectively for a feed concentration of 5 wt% and temperature of 50 °C.