Selection of pervaporation membrane materials for the separation of cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone/cyclohexane mixture

The selective oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone is an industrially important chemical reaction for the manufacture of caprolactam, nylon and other products. To avoid the further secondary reaction of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone in the process of cyclohexane oxidation, a novel pervaporation membrane reactor should be designed for the fast separation of cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone/cyclohexane mixture. Fundamental for success in the area is selecting a polymeric membrane material with extrusive pervaporation separation performance for the mixture system above mentioned. Accordingly, the solubility interactions between difference polymers and solvents, cyclohexane, cyclohexanol, and cyclohexanone are compared based the solubility parameter theory. Polyimide, Polyamide-66, Cellulose acetate, Cellulose triacetate, and Poly vinyl alcohol are selected as the appropriate potential membrane materials for the separation of cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone/cyclohexane mixture.