Desulfurization performance of polydimethylsiloxane membranes by pervaporation: Effect of crosslinking agents

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), as one of the typical membrane, has been widely applied in gasoline desulfurization via pervaporation. In this work, the PDMS/PVDF composite membranes were prepared by curing PDMS with three different crosslinking agents. They were 3‐Aminopropyltrimethoxylsilane (APTMS), 3‐Glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxylsilane (GPTMS), and 3‐Mercaptopropyltrimethoxylsilane (MPTMS), respectively. These PDMS/PVDF composite membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and then evaluated by static tensile test, swelling degree test and surface detach experiment. The results showed that A‐PDMS membrane had highest crosslinking density, best anti‐swelling ability and excellent combination between the separation layer and support layer. Moreover, the effect of operation temperature and the feed sulfur content on separation performance were investigated systematically. Experimental results indicated that PDMS membrane crosslinked with APTMS presented the highest enrichment factor with 3.46°C at 45°C, and PDMS membrane crosslinked with MPTMS presented the highest permeation flux with 21.19 kg/(m 2 ·h) at 45°C. Finally, long‐term stability test showed that these PDMS membranes all have desirable stability. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:1127–1135, 2017. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers