Experimental investigation and modeling of the separation of ternary mixtures by hydrophilic pervaporation

In the course of the present study, the pervaporative dehydration of two ternary mixtures: ethanol/n-butanol/water and ethanol/ethyl acetate/water were investigated through hydrophilic polymer composite PERVAP 1210 membrane. The effects of temperature and the concentrations of water and organic components on permeation were studied through pervaporation experiments. The influence of Hansen solubility parameters of the components and mixtures on their permeation was also examined. It has been found that changes of organic ratios in the feed solution affect organic permeation due to mutual interactions and flux coupling. This interaction was built in a suggested semi-empirical mass-transport model for ternary mixtures with optional simplifications. The modeled partial fluxes are in good accordance with the measured values.