Non-Supported and PET-Supported Chitosan Membranes for Pervaporation: Production, Characterization, and Performance

The objective of this study was to develop non-supported and PET-supported chitosan membranes that were cross-linked with glutaraldehyde, then evaluate their physical–chemical, morphological, and mechanical properties, and evaluate their performance in the separation of ethanol/water and limonene/linalool synthetic mixtures by hydrophilic and target-organophilic pervaporation, respectively. The presence of a PET layer did not affect most of the physical-chemical parameters of the membranes, but the mechanical properties were enhanced, especially the Young modulus (76 MPa to 398 MPa), tensile strength (16 MPa to 27 MPa), and elongation at break (7% to 26%), rendering the supported membrane more resistant. Regarding the pervaporation tests, no permeate was obtained in target-organophilic pervaporation tests, regardless of membrane type. The support layer influenced the hydrophilic pervaporation parameters of the supported membrane, especially in reducing transmembrane flux (0.397 kg∙m−2∙h−1 to 0.121 kg∙m−2∙h−1) and increasing membrane selectivity (611 to 1974). However, the pervaporation separation index has not differed between membranes (228 for the non-supported and 218 for the PET-supported membrane), indicating that, overall, both membranes had a similar performance. Thus, the applicability of each membrane is linked to specific applications that require a more resistant membrane, greater transmembrane fluxes, and higher selectivity.