Fabrication and Characterization of Pulp/Chitosan Composite Membranes Crosslinked with 3-Methylglutaric Anhydride for Pervaporation of Ethanol/Water Mixture

Abstract

Chitosan/Cellulose (CTS/CL) composite membranes were prepared by cross-linking reaction with 3-methy- lglutaric anhydride (3MGA). The cross-linked membranes with CTS/CL were obtained at different CTS con- tents in variations from 50 to 100 wt%, and these membranes were applied in the dehydration of ethanol/wa- ter mixtures. Especially, it was observed that in the case of a composite membrane containing chitosan 80% (CTS/CL-80/20) showed a performance with a separation factor of α = 17.1 and a total permeation flux of J = 326 g/(m2h). It was observed that the total permeation flux decreased when the cross-linking increased and the increase in the ethanol content in the feed solution showed an increase in the separation factor. The CTS/ CL-80/20 showed excellent performance with good mechanical strength and dehydration performance in the ethanol/water mixture separation.