Abstract
Major advantages of the vapourpermeation in a distillation hybrid-process in comparison to molecular sieve adsorption are lower operating costs and steady state behaviour. Polymeric membranes are also cheap in production costs compared to inorganic membrane types. Disadvantages of state of the art organic membrane dewatering technology are sensitivity, unreliability and insufficient purified product quality.
GKSS has developed a new organic/inorganic membrane (based on polyvinylalcohol), which is longterm stable to common organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, etc.), temperatures up to 130°C and 15wt-% water in the feed. Higher temperatures and feed water-contents are being investigated currently in longterm tests.
DOI Link to Publication