PERVAPORATION SEPARATION OF WATER-ETHANOL THROUGH MODIFIED CHITOSAN MEMBRANES .2. CARBOXYMETHYL, CARBOXYETHYL, CYANOETHYL, AND AMIDOXIME CHITOSAN MEMBRANES

The present study investigates the pervaporation performance of four kinds of modified chitosan membranes to separate water from aqueous ethanol solution. Chitosan was prepared from chitin abstracted from the crab shell and subsequently deacetylated with aqueous NaOH solution. Modified chitosan membranes examined in this study include carboxymethyl chitosan, carboxyethyl chitosan, cyanoethyl chitosan, and amidoxime chitosan. The incorporation of hydrophilic functional groups into the 6-O position of chitosan enhances the selectivity of modified chitosan membrane compared to the previously reported chitosan-acetic acid complex membrane. Among the modified chitosan membranes, membranes containing carboxy groups show the best pervaporation performance. Carboxymethyl chitosan membranes show the maximum swelling and ethanol flux at approx. 15 wt.-% feed ethanol concentration due to the coupling and plasticizing effect.