Influence of composite membrane structure on pervaporation

Different composite membranes consisting of polyethersulfone phase-inversion membranes as sublayer and polydimethylsiloxane coatings as toplayer have been prepared and characterized by pervaporation and gas separation experiments. By varying polymer concentration in the casting solution of the sublayer different properties were obtained. The experimental data indicate that any intermediate characteristic between the intrinsic ones of the pure materials used can thus be generated. A spread-sheet simulation pro,- ram based on a simple transport equation was used to fit the pervaporation data. As result the most important five structural parameters modelling a composite membrane have been quantified.