Ethanol:Water blends separation using ultrafiltration membranes of poly(acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) partial sodium Salt and polyacrylamide

In this work, poly (acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) partial sodium salt (P(AAM-co-AA)Na), and polyacrylamide (PAAM) membranes were synthesized for separation of ethanol:water blends. The membranes characteristics were evaluated to determine their ability to separate mixtures of ethanol:water and get dehydrate ethanol (95%). Synthesized membranes showed higher selectivity to ethanol compared to existing polymeric membranes. The ethanol:water blends had an ethanol concentration of 0.10 to 0.70 L/L. The results showed that a mixture of ethanol:water (75:25 L/L) can be concentrated up to 95% ethanol. The membranes stability were studied in absolute ethanol and ethanol:water blend (30:70 L/L) for a period of 30 days of permanent exposure. The membrane deterioration is due to the chemical modification of the membrane active surface layer. It was found that the membranes have a high selectivity (350 times higher) compared to existing membranes, and the substantial and flow of water was 12.15 kg•m−2.h−1. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved