Sorption and permeation studies for isopropanol plus water mixtures using alginate based highly water selective nanocomposite membranes

Nanocomposite membranes (NCMs) were prepared by using the solution casting technique by incorporating the different amounts like 6, 8, 10 wt.% of Preyssler type heteropolyacid nanoparticles to the sodium alginate. Prepared NCMs were utilized for the sorption and permeation studies for the aqueous isopropanol solutions at different concentrations. Sorption experiment enabled the study of interactions between the components of the mixture and the polymer. Flory-Huggins interaction parameters between the permeating molecules and polymer and solubility parameters were determined to explain the sorption behavior of the NCMs. Permeation properties of the NCMs were tested by applying them for pervaporation dehydration of IPA at different concentrations. Different PV parameters like separation factor, flux, Permeance and selectivity were calculated to explain the permeation behavior of the NCMs. In this study, increased sorption, permeation and selectivity was observed for the NCMs than pristine sodium alginate membrane, indicating that NCMs are efficient for PV dehydration of the IPA. Solution-diffusion model was adopted to study the mass transfer through the membrane by calculating the diffusion coefficients.