Investigation of the effect of MIL-100 (Fe) in PDMS membrane for separation of pyridine/isooctane by pervaporation.

A series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-MIL-100 (Fe) composite membranes were fabricated over polyether sulfone (PES) support for pervaporative denitrogenation of model gasoline. Pyridine was the representative nitrogen compound in the model gasoline, a mixture of pyridine and isooctane. Metal organic framework MIL-100 (Fe) was synthesized and characterized with FESEM, EDS, HR-TEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA, and BET analyses. Prepared composite membranes are characterized by FESEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, Doppler broadening measurements, contact angle, AFM, TGA, and tensile strength analyses. The addition of MOF into the PDMS matrix has improved the swelling in the feed environment, added extra free volume, which aids in enhancing flux and permeability, and its adsorptive property has enhanced membrane selectivity towards pyridine removal. The effects of varying compositions of MOF into PDMS, feed concentration, and temperature in pervaporation (PV) performance were studied thoroughly. The optimized total flux and enrichment factor of 6 wt.% MOF added PDMS membrane (P (6)) are 1.52 kg/(m²h) and 3.1, respectively. The P (6) membrane has increased the total flux and enrichment factor value compared to the pristine PDMS membrane by 3.3 and 2.2 times, respectively. The results of stability analysis show that the fabricated membranes have sufficient durability with a stable PV performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]