Collagen film as a new pervaporation membrane

Various films based on collagen are tested for use as hydrophilic pervaporation membranes. Aqueous solutions of ethanol, isopropanol, ethylene glycol, and acetone serve as model mixtures to gain insight into the separation proper-ties of these membranes. The dehydration of apple juice aroma is studied as a practical example in food technology. As a general result, the collagen films investigated proved to be promising pervaporation membranes with good selectivity and, most of all, surprisingly high fluxes at low operation temperatures. Additional benefits, as well as limitations, of these films are briefly discussed.