(330h) Removing of Dimethyl Carbonate from Dimethyl Carbonate / Methanol Azeotrope by Pervaporation

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes and HZSM-5 zeolite-filled PDMS membranes were prepared for the selective separation of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from DMC/methanol (MeOH) azeotrope by pervaporation. HZSM-5 zeolite was added into PDMS membrane in order to improve separation performance because DMC could be absorbed preferentially by hydrophobic zeolite. The PDMS membranes with different contents of cross-linking agent and the HZSM-5 zeolite filled PDMS membrane with different contents of zeolite were evaluated for separation of DMC/MeOH azeotrope by pervaporation. The results tested at 40°C showed that the highest separation factor was 4.1 and the permeate flux was 1.05 kg/(m²h) using the HZSM-5 zeolite-filled PDMS membrane with a EOS/PDMS of 0.3 and a zeolite content of 40 wt.%. Moreover, the effects of operation temperature on pervaporation performances of DMC/MeOH azeotrope were also studied. The separation factors decreased but the permeate fluxes increased with increasing the operation temperature from 40°C to 60°C.