Drastic improvement of bioethanol recovery using a pervaporation separation technique employing a silicone rubber-coated silicalite membrane

• Published in: Journal of chemical technology and biotechnology (1986) 2003-09, Vol.78 (9), p.1006-1010
• Main Authors: Ikegami, T, Kitamoto, D, Negishi, H, Haraya, K, Matsuda, H, Nitanai, Y, Koura, N, Sano, T, Yanagishita, H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: bioethanol; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; ethanol; fermentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; glycerol; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microbial engineering. Fermentation and microbial culture technology; Others; pervaporation; silicone rubber coating; succinic acid; Various methods and equipments
• ISSN: 0268-2575; 1097-4660
• DOI: 10.1002/jctb.897

A coupled fermentation/pervaporation process for reliable production of concentrated ethanol was studied using ethanol permselective silicalite membranes coated with two types of silicone rubber, KE‐45 and KE‐108, as a hydrophobic material. Ethanol recovery was greatly improved by using a membrane coated with KE‐45 silicone rubber. The recovered ethanol concentration in the permeate was 67% (w/w), and the amount of recovered ethanol from the broth was more than 10 times higher than that using a non‐coated membrane. Succinic acid and glycerol, by‐products created during fermentation, interfered with the pervaporation performance of the coated membrane when used to separate an ethanol/water solution. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry