Pervaporation

Pervaporation is a membrane-based separation process that can be used to separate and concentrate liquid mixtures. It is particularly well-suited for handling heat-sensitive materials, azeotropic mixtures, and those with low concentrations.

How Pervaporation Works

In a pervaporation process, the liquid mixture is fed into a membrane module. The components of the mixture permeate through the membrane at different rates, depending on their size, polarity, and other properties. The permeate stream is typically a vapor, which can be condensed to recover the desired component.

Applications of Pervaporation

Pervaporation is used in a wide variety of industries, including:

• Chemical industry: Dehydration of alcohols, separation of organic solvents, and purification of chemicals

• Food and beverage industry: Concentration of fruit juices, de-alcoholization of beer, and removal of volatile compounds from food

• Pharmaceutical industry: Purification of pharmaceuticals and removal of solvents

• Environmental engineering: Removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water