Pervaporative desalination of seawater by using composite and blended poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

Abstract

In this study, pervaporative separation capability of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) based different membranes were investigated. Pristine, zeolite-loaded and blended PVA membranes were prepared by solution-casting and cross-linking method. Zeolite 3A was used to make PVA more stable and durable during the different operation conditions. Sodium alginate has strong hydrophilic bond structure so it was used to enhance water flux. Flux and salt retention values were investigated over temperature range of 293–313 K. Pervaporation performances were evaluated as function of flux and salt retention. At low temperature, ion passage was prevented and 100% salt retention was achieved by all membrane types. As the temperature increased from 293 to 318 K, salt retention dramatically decreased. Increasing zeolite loading positively affected the water flux. Also, blended membrane gave better flux results than pristine PVA.

Keywords:

• Pervaporative desalination
• Poly(vinyl alcohol)
• Sodium alginate
• 3A

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by Scientific Research Projects Unit of Kocaeli University.