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Supported silk fibroin/poly(vinyl alcohol) membrane blends: Structure, properties, and ethanol dehydration by pervaporation
Author(s) -
Karp Joel R.,
Hamerski Fabiane,
Silva Vitor R.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.24796
Subject(s) - pervaporation , fibroin , vinyl alcohol , materials science , chemical engineering , membrane , permeation , plasticizer , swelling , dehydration , sorption , polymer chemistry , polymer , composite material , organic chemistry , adsorption , chemistry , silk , biochemistry , engineering
Supported hydrophilic silk fibroin/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films were produced and applied in ethanol dehydration by pervaporation. Silicone treated filter paper acted as a porous layer and dimethylurea was used as crosslinking agent. The morphological and physical characterization indicated that PVA was necessary to obtain an adequate morphology, while the mechanical properties were mainly influenced by the support. In pervaporation tests conducted at 666.6 Pa and 20°C, for a feed content of 14.3 mol%, a permeate water concentration of 74.6 mol% was achieved, corresponding to a separation factor of 23.7, showing a preference for the permeation of water in the blend. The feed composition was found to have a major influence in the pervaporation, swelling, and sorption experiments. The pervaporation experiments showed that the selectivity of the fibroin/PVA blends was higher than that of the pure PVA membranes, suggesting that the selectivity for water was due to the presence of fibroin, the PVA acting mainly as a plasticizer. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1879–1887, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers