Polymer/ceramic composite membranes and their application in pervaporation process

Pervaporation (PV), as an environmental friendly and energy-saving separation technology, has been received increasing attention in recent years. This article reviews the preparation and application of macroporous ceramic-supported polymer composite pervaporation membranes. The separation materials of polymer/ceramic composite membranes presented here include hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), chitosan (CS) and polyelectrolytes. The effects of ceramic support treatment, polymer solution properties, interfacial adhesion and incorporating or blending modification on the membrane structure and PV performance are discussed. Two in-situ characterization methods developed for polymer/ceramic composite membranes are also covered in the discussion. The applications of these composite membranes in pervaporation process are summarized as well, which contain the bio-fuels recovery, gasoline desulfuration and PV coupled process using PDMS/ceramic composite membrane, and dehydration of alcohols and esters using ceramic-supported PVA or PVA-CS composite membrane. Finally, a brief conclusion remark on polymer/ceramic composite membranes is given and possible future research is outlined.