Polydimethylsiloxane based membranes for biofuels pervaporation

• The latest progress about PDMS based pervaporation membranes was summarized. • The methods for structure design and performance enhancement were given. • The key fabrication and application issues of membranes were emphasized. • The opportunities and challenges for the enhancement of PDMS based membranes in biofuels separation were proposed. Biofuels from biomass have attracted increasing attention in response to the excessive consumption of petroleum-based fuels. To face the high demands for biofuels, the fermentation-separation coupled system is developed to reduce the use of toxic solvents. Pervaporation (PV) has been integrated with a fermentation unit due to its high selectivity for organics, low energy consumption and because it does not have an impact on the microorganisms in the fermentation broth. As the core of the separation unit, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based membranes are the most widely used organophilic membranes, and can be considered the benchmark of alcohols-selective membranes. Furthermore, PDMS based mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) are suggested to boost the bioalcohols to be produced and further enhance its application in biofuels. The literature indicates a dimension of PDMS based membranes for biofuels PV that reaches a new stage, however, few reviews have summarized the latest progress. In this work, a comprehensive overview is given, including the interrelationship of structure design, functionalization and fabrication methods of PDMS based membranes as well as fermentation-PV coupled system. Furthermore, the key preparation and application issues of membranes are summarized, and the opportunities and challenges of enhanced PDMS based membranes for biofuels PV are also given.