Blend membranes of sodium alginate and hydroxyethylcellulose for pervaporation-based enrichment of t-butyl alcohol

Blend membranes of sodium alginate (SA) and hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) were synthesized and ionically crosslinked with phosphoric acid for the separation of t-butanol/water mixtures. The membranes were characterized by FT IR to confirm crosslinking and assess the intermolecular interactions. Thermal stability and crystallinity were determined from TGA and XRD studies. Sorption studies and porosity measurements were carried out to evaluate the extent of interaction and degree of swelling of the membranes, in pure liquids as well as binary mixtures. The crosslinked polymer was found to have good potential for breaking the azeotrope of 88 wt% t-butanol by giving high selectivity of 3237 and substantial water flux of 0.2 kg m−2 h−1. The pervaporation performance was evaluated by varying experimental parameters such as feed composition, membrane thickness and permeate pressure and found to be promising for t-butanol dehydration.