Pervaporation separation of a water/ethanol mixture by a sodium sulfonate polysulfone membrane

Abstract A sodium sulfonate polysulfone membrane was prepared for the dehydration of a water/ethanol mixture by pervaporation. The separation performances of water and ethanol were examined by the testing of the ethanol/water mixture under operating conditions. The permselectivity of the sodium sulfonate polysulfone membrane was found to strongly depend on the sodium content in the membrane. The sodium sulfonate ratio showed a significant influence on the hydrophilicity and diffusion behavior of the polysulfone membrane. Moreover, the difference in the diffusion of the permeates played an important role in the sulfonate polysulfone membrane. It was found that a high‐performance pervaporation membrane could be achieved with a sodium sulfonate polysulfone membrane. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 3374–3383, 2003