PREPARATION OF PERVAPORATION MEMBRANES FOR REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED ORGANICS FROM WATER BY PLASMA-GRAFT FILLING POLYMERIZATION

Using ethylacrylate (EA) or butylacrylate (BA) as the grafting monomer, filling polymerized membranes were prepared with the aid of an emulsion system by the plasma-graft polymerization technique. The filling membrane was composed of two different polymers; porous high density polyethylene substrate and grafted polymer filling the substrate pores. Both monomers could graft efficiently with the surfactant, and we verified that the grafted polymer filled the substrate pores. Pervaporation separation of dilute aqueous solutions of chloroform or 1,1,2-trichloroethane (TCE) through these membranes was carried out. The membranes selectively permeated chloroform and TCE from water. The chloroform selectivity of the BA grafted membrane was higher than that of the EA or methylacrylate membranes. For TCE, BA grafted membrane showed high permselectivity and flux. A permeation rate of 0.232 kg/m 2 h and a separation factor of 1096 were achieved for a feed stream consisting of 0.135 wt% TCE.