Polymer membranes for separating organic mixtures

Abstract Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and cellulose ester were respectively chosen as the separation layer and the support in the composite membranes based on the concept of the solubility parameter and the permselectivities for separating ethanol/water mixture, isopropanol/water mixture, and caprolactam/water mixture. The effects of the membrane materials and the construction of the composite membrane on the separation performance were preliminary discussed. The separation performance of the membranes prepared by several making‐membrane techniques, i.e., the polymer solution making‐membrane technique, and the membrane treatment technique (heat treatment, organic solvent modification) were presented. The composite membranes of PVA/PAN and PVA/cellulose acetate, and cellulose triacetate hollow fiber membrane modified, which possess good performance in separating the organic systems, were developed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1160–1164, 2006