Abstract
A thin acrylamide gel membrane was prepared in pores of a thin ceramic membrane of silica-alumina by copolymerizing acrylamide of primary monomer and N,N′-methylene-bis(acrylamide) as crosslinking agent. The gel membrane was used for separation of acetone/water mixture by pervaporation to give quite large fluxes of water and an extremely high separation factor of about 2000 at 95 mol% of acetone concentration in the upstream. Such a high separation factor is thought to be due to the fact that the permeation of acetone molecules can be blocked by the network of the acrylamide gel, which shrinks with increasing acetone concentration in the upstream of the membrane.
