Simulation of Standalone Pervaporation & Hybrid Distillation Pervaporation

Abstract

High energy consumption of distillation for the separation of azeotropic mixtures or mixtures with low relative volatility has made pervaporation an attractive alternative as the energy required for the separation is strongly reduced due to the selective vaporization of the permeating components only. However, pervaporation involves higher capital cost than distillation processes. Thus, a hybrid process in principle combines the advantages of both separation techniques while the disadvantages can be minimized. Potential applications of hybrid distillation/pervaporation processes such as dehydration of alcohols, aprotic solvents, and esters, as well as for the removal of volatile organic compounds from aqueous streams are reported. A review of shortcut methods developed to deal with design methodology of hybrid distillation/pervaporation processes to obtain optimal structural, operational and economic layouts is presented. Mathematical modeling equations for membrane modules developed in literature to carry out rigorous simulations are reported briefly. Areas for further research and development are identified to bridge the gaps present in literature to make hybrid distillation/pervaporation process a wide spread industrially viable technology.