development of sodium alginate-13x zeolite-filled mixed matrix membranes for pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol

Novel polymeric composite membranes were prepared by solution casting method by the incorporation of different amounts of 13X zeolite into Sodium Alginate. Membranes were cross-linked with glutaraldehyde and tested for pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol at 300 C. The mixed matrix membranes were characterized by FT-IR, X-RD, TGA, DSC and SEM, and we found that flux and selectivity increased systematically with increasing amount of zeolite in the SA matrix. In case of zeolite membrane containing 30wt. % highest selectivity 2300 was observed of which was attributed to the combined effects of molecular adhesion between zeolites and SA matrix as well as enhanced hydrophilicity due to the zeolite