Journal of Membrane Science 176 (2000) 131–142 Pervaporation separation of chlorinated hydrocarbon and acetone mixtures with crosslinked styrene-butadiene rubber and natural rubber blend membranes Soney C. George a,1 , K.N. Ninan b , Sabu Thomas a,∗ a School of Chemical Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarshini Hills P.O., Kottayam, Kerala 686560, India b Propellant and Specials Chemicals Group, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Received 15 July 1999; accepted 7 April 2000 Abstract A new kind of membrane was prepared by blending styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and natural rubber (NR) in equal proportions. These membranes were crosslinked by four different vulcanising systems viz. conventional (CV), efficient (EV), dicumylperoxide (DCP) and a mixture consisting of sulphur and peroxide (mixed). The properties of these membranes were evaluated by pervaporation separation of chlorinated hydrocarbon and acetone mixtures. The experimental results showed that the selectivity and the fluxes of these membranes depended on the nature and distribution of crosslinks between the macromolecular chains of the membrane. The effects of feed composition and the molecular size of the permeate on the permeation flux and selectivity were investigated. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Pervaporation; Chlorinated hydrocarbons; Acetone; Crosslinked SBR/NR; Membranes 1. Introduction Pervaporation is a membrane separation process in which a liquid feed contacts one side of a mem- brane and a vacuum is drawn on the other side of the membrane to produce permeate vapour. It is an energy efficient way of separating liquid mixtures that are difficult to be separated by conventional means [1,2]. There are several reports available in the field of pervaporation separation of azeotropic ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-481-561800; fax: +91-481-561190. E-mail address: sabut@md2.vsnl.net.in (S. Thomas) 1 Present address: Department of Polymer Technology, Crescent Engineering College, Seethakathi Estate, Vandalur P.O., Chennai 600048, India. mixtures [3] and removal of organics from aqueous solutions [4]. The selection of polymer blend mem- brane as a novel material for pervaporation separation process is worth probing. Park et al. [5] investigated the pervaporation performance of polymer blend membranes made of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). They found that these membranes were useful for the selective separation of alcohols from toluene. Lokaj et al. [6] reported that the blend membranes prepared from poly(styrene-N-phenyl maleimide) and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) were useful for the pervaporation separation of aqueous ethanol solutions. Elyassins and coworkers [7] studied the preparation and pervaporation perfor- mance of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(ethylene glycol) blend films in dehydration of ethanol. Okomoto et al. [8] reported on the pervaporation performance of a 0376-7388/00/$ – see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0376-7388(00)00439-7