Laboratory‐ and pilot plant‐scale study on the dehydration of cyclohexane by pervaporation

In this work, pervaporation is applied for the dehydration of industrial cyclohexane, used as a solvent and reaction medium in the manufacture of synthetic rubbers. Working with initial concentrations of water in cyclohexane within the range of 0.090–0.110 kg m −3 , an experimental study was performed (i) in the laboratory, using a radial cell with a membrane area of 0.0178 m 2 ; and (ii) in a pilot plant located at the industrial site, with a plate‐and‐frame membrane module and a total membrane area of 3 m2. In both cases, the same pervaporation membrane, with a preferential flux of water, was used. The mass transfer coefficient was determined, together with its dependence on the hydrodynamic regime. The higher hydraulic resistance of the plate‐and‐frame module generated a pressure decrease that limited the feed velocity, thus increasing the mass transfer resistance of the pervaporation process in comparison with the bench‐scale system. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry