Pervaporation membranes for separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures

Separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures is investigated extensively owing to the great importance in petrochemical industry and environmental protection. Compared to conventional technologies, pervaporation (PV) is a promising alternative in separation of organic/aliphatic mixtures and offers many advantages such as high separation efficiency, low energy consumption and simple operation. In recent years, PV separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures is receiving more attentions worldwide. In this paper, a review is presented on recent progress in PV membrane materials for separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures. The mechanism and application of PV are discussed in brief. Special emphasis is given to the recent research process in membrane materials such as polyimide, polyurethane and so on. Furthermore, the modification methods of membrane materials are summarized in detail such as grafting, copolymerization, blending and adding transfer enhancer. The design ideas of membrane materials are suggested and the foresight development in PV membrane for separation of aromatic/aliphatic mixtures is also illustrated.