DESIGN OF PERVAPORATION MEMBRANE FOR ORGANIC-LIQUID SEPARATION BASED ON SOLUBILITY CONTROL BY PLASMA-GRAFT FILLING POLYMERIZATION TECHNIQUE

We have prepared the filling-polymerized membrane for pervaporation of organic-liquid mixtures by the plasma-graft polymerization technique. The membrane is composed of two different polymers: a porous substrate which can suppress membrane swelling and a grafted polymer which forms in the pores of the substrate and exhibits selectivity due to its solubility. The objectives of the present study are to design a suitable membrane for an organic-mixture system by the control of the filling-polymer solubility. Specifically, a porous high-density polyethylene membrane and poly(methylacrylate/acrylamide) copolymer were employed as the porous substrate and grafted polymer, respectively, and grafted copolymer solubility was predicted by Hansen solubility parameters (HSP). The grafted polymer composition and its solubility behavior could be controlled by varying the monomer composition, and the solubility change was in accordance with the prediction by HSP. Pervaporation performance through the membranes showed the same tendency as solubility results. We concluded that an optimum pervaporation membrane can be designed on the basis of solubility control through use of these techniques for polymerization and prediction.