Open Access
ARTICLE
Effects of PEG200 on the Properties and Performance of PVDF Membranes in the Separation of MethanolWater Mixtures by Pervaporation
DIPESHKUMAR D. KACHHADIYA, Z.V.P. MURTHY*
Department of Chemical Engineering
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat – 395007, Gujarat, India
* Corresponding Authors: e-mail: ,
Journal of Polymer Materials 2021, 38(1-2), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.5
Abstract
The conventional process for methanol-water separation like distillation consumes about 60 %
of total energy. As an alternative, researchers have developed a membrane-based separation
process for alcohol-water mixtures separation. However, there is a big challenge for researches
to separate alcohol-water aqueous mixtures using a polymeric membrane because of swelling.
In the present work, the aim is to separate methanol from water by pervaporation using polymeric
membranes made up of polyvinylidenefluroide (PVDF) and polyethylene glycol (PEG200) modified
PVDF membranes. The membranes were characterized by thermogravimetry analysis (TGA),
field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR). A study on the process parameters such as temperature (35, 40, 45, 50,
and 55 °C) and feed composition (20%, 30%, and 40% of methanol) was carried out for pure
PVDF membrane. The pure PVDF membrane was modified by adding pore-forming agent
PEG200, which results in increasing the porosity of the membrane. Due to an increase in
porosity of the membrane, the hydrophilicity of the membrane was found to be increased. As a
result, higher water flux was observed than methanol flux in the modified membrane. For the
pure PVDF membrane, the total flux increased with an increase of methanol content in the
feed. The PEG-modified membrane is more selective towards water than methanol, so the
higher methanol selectivity was found in the pure PVDF membrane.
Keywords
Cite This Article
APA Style
KACHHADIYA, D.D., MURTHY, Z. (2021). Effects of PEG200 on the properties and performance of PVDF membranes in the separation of methanolwater mixtures by pervaporation. Journal of Polymer Materials, 38(1-2), 49-61. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.5
Vancouver Style
KACHHADIYA DD, MURTHY Z. Effects of PEG200 on the properties and performance of PVDF membranes in the separation of methanolwater mixtures by pervaporation. J Polym Materials . 2021;38(1-2):49-61 https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.5
IEEE Style
D.D. KACHHADIYA and Z. MURTHY, "Effects of PEG200 on the Properties and Performance of PVDF Membranes in the Separation of MethanolWater Mixtures by Pervaporation," J. Polym. Materials , vol. 38, no. 1-2, pp. 49-61. 2021. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.5