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Updated: Jan 13, 2026

A High Performance Impedance-based Platform for Evaporation Rate Detection
Published on: October 17, 2016
Near Azeotropic Ethanol-Water Mixture Pervaporation Through a Polyvinyl Alcohol Membrane: A Parametric Study on
Cristiana Luminița Gîjiu1, Daniel Dumitru Dinculescu1, Raluca Isopescu1
1Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
None:
The goal of this study was to explore how different operating parameters influence the performance of a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane in pervaporation for separating ethanol-water mixtures. Specifically, the focus was on understanding how variations in feed composition, temperature, and permeate pressure affect the separation efficiency. The study aimed to provide a range of operating conditions that offer a balance between maximizing both the purity and quantity of ethanol. This was achieved through statistical models, which were generated by simulating the pervaporation process under various conditions using COMSOL Multiphysics® 6.3 and following a Box-Behnken design. It was found that similar operating conditions (temperature ~100 °C; pressure ~4-5 kPa) are suitable for both kinds of mixtures near azeotrope, with higher water content (~0.15 mass fraction) and lower water content (~0.05 mass fraction) obtaining very high recuperation degrees (generally above 99%). For more concentrated solutions (lower water content), it was possible to obtain optimal trade-off solutions (separation degree vs. retentate enrichment in ethanol), even at lower temperatures (~80 °C).
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Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.

