Removal of acetone, ethyl acetate and ethanol vapors from air using a hollow fiber PDMS membrane module

Polyetherimide (PEI) membranes coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are frequently used for removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air. An experimental and theoretical study was per-formed to evaluate the effects of the feed flow rate, feed VOC composition, feed and permeate total pressure using a hollow fiber membrane module for separating acetone, ethyl acetate and ethanol from air. The results are discussed on a basis of permeate flux and permeate VOC concentration. It was found that the hollow fiber module provides good separation capabilities, in spite of the observed PEI sub-layer mass transport resistance, and the proposed model fits the experimental results fairly well. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.