Extraction of Organic Volatile Pollutants in Over-Saturated Water by Pervaporation Technique Using a Poly (Dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sealer as a Membrane

Abstract

SILICONE1200 is an inexpensive domestic poly (dimethylsiloxane)-based sealer that was used in this study to remove volatile organic compounds from over-saturated water using the pervaporation technique. A series of volatile organic liquid compounds representing an important part of polluting organic products released every day in water were chosen for this study. These products were alkyl halides (chloroform), aromatics (toluene), aliphatic hydrocarbons (heptanes), ketones and aldehydes (butanone), and organosulfides (thiophene). The mass transfer of these compounds and their mixtures through the SILICONE1200 membrane was assessed to predict the results of the separation process. The results indicate that the mechanism of diffusion obeyed a Fickian model. Different parameters affecting the pervaporation results, such as the membrane thickness, stirring rate, and temperature, were examined to determine the optimal conditions in terms of the total flux and selectivity. The optimized parameters were then applied to the separation of an organic mixture from polluted water using the dynamic pervaporation process with promising results.