ZSM-5/thermoplastic polyurethane mixed matrix membranes for pervaporation of dilute aqueous organic solvents

The present study aimed to synthesize ZSM-5/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) for efficient pervaporation of n-butanol and ethanol from dilute aqueous solutions as a cheap and easy to fabricate replacement for the benchmark polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes. Binary systems of n-butanol-water and ethanol-water were tested along with a ternary system of n-butanol-ethanol-water. ZSM-5 loadings were varied from 0-30 wt.% in an effort to enhance the overall selectivity and permeability of the MMMs. Ball milling and air calcination were also conducted on the ZSM-5 particles to ideally further improve their separation capabilities. The resulting membranes were characterized by SEM, AFM, EDXA, TGA, and contact angle analysis. Experimental results indicated that the 20 wt.% ZSM-5/TPU MMM was able to significantly enhance the selectivity, separation factor, and alcohol permeability in all solutions when compared to pure TPU. Air calcination provided near identical results while ball milling degraded the MMM performance. Pervaporation of n-butanol-water had a maximum selectivity of 6.86, pervaporation of ethanol-water had a maximum selectivity of 0.10, and pervaporation of n-butanol-ethanol-water had a maximum selectivity of 3.97 for n-butanol and 0.11 for ethanol. This study opens the door for further research into TPU MMMs for pervaporation as an easy to fabricate and economical competitor to PDMS.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Chemical Engineering

Grantor

Texas Tech University

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Rosenthal, Justin

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Malmali, Mahdi

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Chen, Chauchyun
• Li, Wei

• Pervaporation
• Polyurethane
• Mixed Matrix Membranes

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2346/87565

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ttu-ir.tdl.org:2346/87565