TY - JOUR

T1 - A Review of Recent Developments of Pervaporation Membranes for Ethylene Glycol Purification

AU - Rostovtseva, Valeriia

AU - Faykov, Ilya

AU - Pulyalina, Alexandra

N1 - Rostovtseva, V.; Faykov, I.; Pulyalina, A. A Review of Recent Developments of Pervaporation Membranes for Ethylene Glycol Purification. Membranes 2022, 12, 312. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12030312

PY - 2022/3/10

Y1 - 2022/3/10

N2 - Ethylene glycol (EG) is an essential reagent in the chemical industry including polyester and antifreeze manufacture. In view of the constantly expanding field of EG applications, the search for and implementation of novel economical and environmentally friendly technologies for the separation of organic and aqueous–organic solutions remain an issue. Pervaporation is currently known to significantly reduce the energy and resource consumption of a manufacturer when obtaining high-purity components using automatic, easily scalable, and compact equipment. This review provides an overview of the current research and advances in the pervaporation of EG-containing mixtures (water/EG and methanol/EG), as well as a detailed analysis of the relationship of pervaporation performance with the membrane structure and properties of membrane materials. It is discussed that a controlled change in the structure and transport properties of a membrane is possible using modification methods such as treatment with organic solvents, introduction of nonvolatile additives, polymer blending, crosslinking, and heat treatment. The use of various modifiers is also described, and a particularly positive effect of membrane modification on the separation selectivity is highlighted. Among various polymers, hydrophilic PVA-based membranes stand out for optimal transport properties that they offer for EG dehydrating. Fabricating of TFC membranes with a microporous support layer appears to be a viable approach to the development of productivity without selectivity loss. Special attention is given to the recovery of methanol from EG, including extensive studies of the separation performance of polymer membranes. Membranes based on a CS/PVP blend with inorganic modifiers are specifically promising for methanol removal. With regard to polymer wettability properties, it is worth mentioning that membranes based on hydrophobic polymers (e.g., SPEEK, PBI/PEI, PEC, PPO) are capable of exhibiting much higher selectivity due to diffusion limitations.

AB - Ethylene glycol (EG) is an essential reagent in the chemical industry including polyester and antifreeze manufacture. In view of the constantly expanding field of EG applications, the search for and implementation of novel economical and environmentally friendly technologies for the separation of organic and aqueous–organic solutions remain an issue. Pervaporation is currently known to significantly reduce the energy and resource consumption of a manufacturer when obtaining high-purity components using automatic, easily scalable, and compact equipment. This review provides an overview of the current research and advances in the pervaporation of EG-containing mixtures (water/EG and methanol/EG), as well as a detailed analysis of the relationship of pervaporation performance with the membrane structure and properties of membrane materials. It is discussed that a controlled change in the structure and transport properties of a membrane is possible using modification methods such as treatment with organic solvents, introduction of nonvolatile additives, polymer blending, crosslinking, and heat treatment. The use of various modifiers is also described, and a particularly positive effect of membrane modification on the separation selectivity is highlighted. Among various polymers, hydrophilic PVA-based membranes stand out for optimal transport properties that they offer for EG dehydrating. Fabricating of TFC membranes with a microporous support layer appears to be a viable approach to the development of productivity without selectivity loss. Special attention is given to the recovery of methanol from EG, including extensive studies of the separation performance of polymer membranes. Membranes based on a CS/PVP blend with inorganic modifiers are specifically promising for methanol removal. With regard to polymer wettability properties, it is worth mentioning that membranes based on hydrophobic polymers (e.g., SPEEK, PBI/PEI, PEC, PPO) are capable of exhibiting much higher selectivity due to diffusion limitations.

KW - Dehydration

KW - Ethylene glycol

KW - Membranes

KW - Methanol

KW - Pervaporation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85126555328&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d82bda9e-4748-3474-b864-b06416e6c408/

U2 - 10.3390/membranes12030312

DO - 10.3390/membranes12030312

M3 - Review article

C2 - 35323787

AN - SCOPUS:85126555328

VL - 12

JO - Membranes

JF - Membranes

SN - 2077-0375

IS - 3

M1 - 312

ER -