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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter May 28, 2013

Effect of flow-rate on ethanol separation in membrane distillation process

  • Marek Gryta EMAIL logo
From the journal Chemical Papers

Abstract

The separation of diluted ethanol solutions and fermentation broths by membrane distillation was investigated. The influence of stream flow-rate on the ethanol flux was studied. An evaluation of the process conditions on the separation degree of ethanol was performed with the application of hydrophobic capillary membranes composed of polypropylene. By removing the alcohol via membrane distillation, it is possible to achieve a higher content of ethanol in the permeate than that in the broth. The enrichment coefficient amounted to 4–6.5, and decreased with an increase of the ethanol concentration in the broth. It was found that the flow-rate affects the value of the enrichment coefficient. A positive influence of carbon dioxide on the ethanol transport through the capillary membrane was observed. The evolution of CO2 bubbles from the broth increases the stream turbulence, probably enhancing the alcohol concentration in the layer adjacent to the membrane surface.

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Published Online: 2013-5-28
Published in Print: 2013-9-1

© 2013 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences

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