Adsorbent filled polymeric membranes: applications to pervaporation and gas separation

Nowadays research in membrane technology aims at improving the efficiency of the separation process to make it more competitive in comparison to conventional separation techniques. The improvement of the membrane material is a way to achieve this goal, especially in the case of pervaporation and gas separation. The incorporation of microporous adsorbents into a polymer material might result in better separation properties. This was shown in the case of silicate-1 into a silicone rubber matrix used for the pervaporation of alcohol/water mixtures. Microporous adsorbents like active carbons, molecular sieve carbons and zeolites are conventionally used in batch or semi-continuous processes for separation purposes. Their specific separation properties are due to selective sorption of one species over others or/and to different rates of adsorption (molecular sieving). The present study investigates the use of these materials in continuous membrane processes (gas separation and pervaporation).