Semi-pilot tests of ethanol dehydration using commercial ceramic pervaporation membranes

Abstract

Most research efforts about pervaporation in the open literature focus on membrane synthesis, trying to improve the membrane properties (flux and selectivity). However, industrial applications of pervaporation technology could become attractive if the current available membranes proved to have sufficient and stable performance in order to be integrated in the toolbox of process engineers, as a complementary separation process. In this study the ethanol dehydration performance of commercial hybrid silica membranes (HybSi®) was assessed in a semi-pilot pervaporation unit from a process-based perspective. The aim of the study was to reveal the high potential of the process and to create a benchmark for future studies in the field. The experimental results showed that the proposed pervaporation process can break the ethanol/water azeotrope, without the need for additional chemicals, resulting thus in the production of high purity ethanol. The overall assessment of the obtained pilot results showed that the proposed process is quite efficient for attracting the industrial interest.