Thermally rearranged (TR) membranes for dehydration of biofuels and solvents

Abstract

Recently, membranes derived from thermally rearranged polybenzoxazole (PBO) have shown superior performance for gas separation. This outstanding separation performance is resulted from the microporous structure favoring fast transport of small gas molecules. Moreover, the PBO also possess superior thermal and chemical stabilities which intensify its attractiveness. These features inspired us to explore the feasibility of PBO membranes for dehydration of biofuel and solvents via pervaporation process. In this study, the advantageous of PBO membrane for pervaporation has been highlighted. The polyimide precursor was synthesized and cast into membranes. The resultant polyimide membranes were then subjected to the thermal treatment to initiate the solid-state chain rearrangement into PBO. The effects of the heating temperatures and durations on the membranes performance were investigated.