Preparation and characterization of nanocomposite membranes based on PVC/TiO2 anatase for the separation of toluene/n-heptane mixtures via pervaporation

Hybrid membranes based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) containing 1–5 wt% of titanium dioxide anatase (TiO2 anatase) particles were prepared via the casting solution method. These membranes were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, SEM, EDX, and contact angle measurements. The pervaporation (PV) and separation characteristics of toluene/n-heptane mixtures containing 50 wt% through these membranes were investigated at 56 °C. The membranes flux increased with increasing TiO2 anatase content, and the selectivity decreased; however, a significant improvement in PV performance was observed for membranes loaded with TiO2 anatase compared to pure PVC. The PVC membrane loaded with 2 wt% TiO2 anatase showed the highest separation factor of 6.27 with a normalized flux of 0.55 kg/m2.h where in absence of TiO2 anatase the corresponding values were 9.7 and 0.05 kg/m2.h.