Polyacrylonitrile-supported self-aggregation crosslinked poly (vinyl alcohol) pervaporation membranes for ethanol dehydration

Highly water-selective poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyacrylonitrile (PAN) pervaporation membranes were prepared by combining self-aggregation crosslinking reactions for PVA through ammonium persulfate (APS) initiations and interface physicochemical structure regulations for PAN supports. The membrane physicochemical properties were tested and the pervaporation performances were investigated by separation of 95 wt% ethanol aqueous. The results showed that the swelling degree and crystalline region of PVA membranes decreased with the increasing of APS content. On the contrary, the gel fraction of PVA membranes increased. Interestingly, the interface physicochemical structure between the PAN support and PVA separation layer played an important role in pervaporation processes. When the PAN supports were treated by sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and tannic acid (Ta), the water fraction in permeation always kept over 99.99 wt%, especially after Ta treatment. After optimization, the membrane based on PVA content of 8 g, 1.25 g self-crosslinking agent of APS and spin-coated onto H-2-PAN (PAN modified by NaOH and Ta respectively), showed good permeability-selectivity and long-term performance stabilities. The total flux and water content ratio in permeation were 117.6 g/(m(2)h) and 99.99 wt% respectively by using the PVA(8.1.25)/H-2-PAN membrane. After running for 120 h, the membranes still displayed a good stability for the ethanol dehydration in the pervaporation process. Importantly, the ethanol solution could be concentrated to over 99.99% using this polyacrylonitrile-based self-aggregation crosslinked poly (vinyl alcohol) pervaporation dehydration membrane.