Definitions and Background

Over the past five years membrane pervaporation has gained acceptance by the chemical industry as an effective process tool for separation and recovery of liquid mixtures. It is currently best identified with dehydration of liquid hydrocarbons to yield high-purity organics, most notably ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and ethylene glycol. Due to its favorable economics, efficacy, and simplicity, it can be easily integrated into distillation and rectification processes and, depending on the specific process, even replace them. Presently, considerable data are available on industrial-scale processes utilizing pervaporation to evaluate its performance. Chapters 7 through 10 review the historical perspectives of pervaporation, its underlying fundamental principles, design considerations, current commercial applications and processes, and general economics with respect to alternative process technologies.