Comparison of various models for transport of binary mixtures through dense polymer membrane

The main aim of this work is the application of various models describing the transport of a penetrant during pervaporation process in the membrane and their comparison. We experimentally determined sorption isotherms of pure components, diffusion coefficients, non-ideal sorption of liquid binary mixture in a membrane and the density of the membrane versus concentration composition. All mentioned dependencies were mathematically described and then introduced into a Flory-Rehner equations, UNIFAP model and modified Maxwell-Stefan equations. Models were used for description of the transport of liquid binary mixtures (pentan-1-ol, hexan-1-ol with toluene) through the low-density polyethylene membrane at 25 degreesC. Calculated pervaporation fluxes and separation diagrams were compared with the results of the experiments. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.