Separation of ethanol-water mixtures by the membranes prepared from liquid silk

Abstract

Silk-based membranes with the thickness of around 6 micrometers were prepared from the silk glands of fully grown larvae of domestic Bombyx mori silkworm instead of its fibers, and the fundamental vapor permeation as well as pervaporation experiments of ethanol-water mixtures were performed. The permselectivity of water for the membranes developed was almost comparable to that for chitosan and a little superior to PVA. The observed ATR-FTIR spectra bands in the range of amide I and II frequencies for the silk-based membranes were unchanged after the treatments with ethanol. The membranes produced from liquid silk seem to be fairly stable against ethanol.