This chapter provides a comprehensive overview on the application of
chitosan membranes in pervaporation and permeation processes. Pervaporation is a
widely used membrane process for volatile liquid mixture separation. The separation of
solvents is of extreme importance in a variety of industries ranging from chemical to
food and pharmaceutical. The main thrust of research efforts has been concentrated on
the polymeric membranes: investigation of new polymeric materials, modeling of
component transport through dense polymers and description of their application.
Chitosan membranes, owing to their hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and ease of
modification have been extensively applied for numerous pervaporation processes. The
general overview of the preparation and application of different kinds of chitosan
membranes e.g. crosslinked, blended, hybrid, grafted and chitosan membranes on
porous support, in the separation of various solvents is presented. The progress of
research, challenges and opportunities, as well as the prospect of pervaporation
technique are also discussed.
Keywords: Blended chitosan membranes, Chitosan membranes on porous
support, Crosslinked chitosan membranes, Grafted chitosan membranes, Hybrid
chitosan membranes, Pervaporation.
