Separation of water–isopropyl alcohol mixtures with novel hybrid composite membranes

New-fangled hybrid composite membranes were prepared by the incorporation of 5, 10, and 15 mass % NaY–zeolite particles into blend membranes of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-g-acrylamide/sodium alginate (NaAlg) and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. The pervaporation (PV) separation performance of the hybrid composite membranes was explored for the dehydration of isopropyl alcohol from their aqueous solutions at 30°C. The effect of NaY–zeolite in these blend membranes was investigated in PV dehydration. From the experimental results, we found that NaY particles could be intercalated in the aqueous polymer solution. The obtained results show that both the flux and selectivity increased simultaneously with increasing zeolite content in the membrane. This was explained on the basis of an enhancement of the hydrophilicity, selective adsorption, and molecular sieving action by the creation of pores in the membrane matrix. The membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2012