Poly(octylmethylsiloxane)/oleyl alcohol supported liquid membrane for the pervaporative recovery of 1-butanol from aqueous and ABE model solutions

Supported liquid membranes (SLM) composed of oleyl alcohol (OA) and poly(octylmethylsiloxane) (POMS) in microporous flat sheets were investigated for the pervaporation of 1-butanol. Water contact angle and partition coefficients were used to characterize the SLMs. Optimum pervaporation performance was attained at 30 wt% OA SLM wherein high separation factor (α = 279) and total flux (JT = 95.9 g/(m2 h)) were achieved from 2.5% (w/v) 1-butanol/water feed, at 60 °C. In these conditions, 27% reduction in JT was observed when fed with model fermentation broths but remained highly selective toward 1-butanol (α = 76.4). SLM stability was demonstrated with <4% LM loss after operation.