Separation Science and Technology, Vol.46, No.11, 1699-1708, 2011
Pervaporation Separation of p-/o-Xylene Mixtures Using HTPB-Based Polyurethaneurea Membranes
Hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB)-based polyurethaneurea membranes with and without cross-linkage were synthesized and first used as membrane material to separate p-/o-xylene mixtures by pervaporation. Compared with HTPB-PU (without cross-linkage) membranes, HTPB-DVB-PU (cross-linked HTPB-PU with divinyl benzene) membranes demonstrated a lower degree of swelling in xylene isomer solutions and noticeable improved separation factor of p/o-xylene. On the other hand, the amount of p-xylene adsorbed in HTPB-DVB-PU membranes increased significantly rather than that of o-xylene. While the separation factor of p-/o-xylene increased but the total flux decreased with increasing DVB content, which can be ascribed to the improved chemical structure and more homogeneous chain structures of the HTPB-DVB-PUmembranes. The p-xylene normalized permeation rate and separation factor of p-/o-xylene of HTPB-DVB-PU membrane reached 2.70 kg mu m/m(2) h and 2.23, respectively, at a feed concentration of 10wt% p-xylene at 30 degrees C.