Effect of Acetone on Butanol Separation from Butanol-Acetone-Oleyl Alcohol Mixture by Pervaporation.

Pervaporation of a butanol-acetone-oleyl alcohol mixture through a poly (dimethylsiloxane) hollow-fiber membrane was conducted to examine the effect of acetone on butanol separation from the mixture. The fluxes of butanol and acetone increased linearly with increasing concentrations of butanol (0-366mol/m3) and acetone (0-49mol/m3) in the feed solutions, respectively. By analyzing these fluxes based on a solution-diffusion model, the permeabilities of butanol and acetone were estimated as 1.6×10-9m2/h and 2.1 × 10-8m2/h, respectively. It was found that the separation factor of butanol ranged from 5 to 17, irrespective of acetone concentration, and that the separation factor of acetone ranged from 53 to 121, independent of butanol concentration.