The area of separation and purification has been revolutionized in the past decade by the development of membrane systems. These have received much notice for their direct integration into the traditional chemical industry as partial or total replacement for costly and complex processes such as azeotropic or extractive distillation. New technologies are rapidly being incorporated into modern chemical engineering with applications found in the expanding fields of biological engineering/biotechnology; hazardous waste management; specialty chemical and biochemical production; food and beverage processing; and, reuse and recovery systems engineering. This project focuses on the development of instructional and laboratory experiences in membrane pervaporation processes. The project goal is to provide students with both theoretical and working knowledge of the membrane pervaporation process. This is accomplished through a supplement to a current course, a new course, and the introduction of new laboratory experiments covering the fundamentals of membrane pervaporation and the operation and application of this process. Experiments illustrate the concepts of the driving force for pervaporative mass transport through membranes, the mechanism for transport as represented by the solution- diffusion model, the parameters quantifying membrane separation, and basic membrane material science. The award is being matched by an equal amount from the principal investigator's institution.
