What is Pervaporation?
Depiction of Flow through the
membrane
Pervaporation: is a process in
which a liquid stream containing two or more components is placed
in contact with one side of a non-porous polymeric membrane while
a vacuum or gas purge is applied to the other side. The components
in the liquid stream sorb into the membrane,
permeate
through the membrane, and
evaporate into the vapor
phase (hence the word
pervaporate). The vapor, referred to
as "the permeate", is then condensed. Due to different species in
the feed mixture having different affinities for the membrane and
different diffusion rates through the membrane, a component at low
concentration in the feed can be highly enriched in the permeate.
Further, the permeate composition may widely differ from that of the
vapor evolved after a free vapor-liquid equilibrium process. Concentration
factors range from the single digits to over 1,000, depending on the
compounds, the membrane, and process conditions. A schematic diagram
of a pervaporation system is shown below:
Schematic diagram of the Pervaporation
System
Contact Information:
Primary Investigators:
Dr. Leland Vane
(513) 569-7799
vane.leland@epa.gov
Fax: (513) 569-7677
Postal Address:
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Mail Stop 443
Cincinnati, Ohio 45268
![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090513114742im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}