pervaporation
Noun: 1. A separation process: Pervaporation is a membrane-based process for separating mixtures of liquids. It involves the partial vaporization of a liquid mixture through a selective, non-porous membrane. Components of the mixture permeate through the membrane at different rates, are evaporated on the opposite side, and are then removed as vapor.
Pervaporation is primarily a technical term used in the fields of chemical engineering, process engineering, and industrial chemistry. * It describes a specific unit operation for purification or concentration. * It is often discussed in the context of separating azeotropic mixtures (liquids that are difficult to separate by simple distillation) or for dehydrating organic solvents.
- Noun:
- Pervaporation is an energy-efficient alternative to distillation for ethanol dehydration.
- The plant uses a pervaporation unit to remove water from the isopropanol stream.
- Researchers are developing new membrane materials to improve the selectivity of the pervaporation process.
- Technical Application: The term is frequently modified to specify the target of the separation.
- Solvent dehydration: "The pervaporation membrane preferentially allows water to pass through, drying the solvent."
- Organic-organic separation: "The challenge was to find a membrane suitable for the pervaporation of methanol from methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)."
- Pervaporate (verb): To separate components by means of pervaporation. (e.g., "The mixture can be to obtain a pure product.")
- Pervaporative (adjective): Relating to or using pervaporation. (e.g., "The flux of the component was measured.")
- Membrane separation
- Selective vapor permeation
The reference context provides a specific, historical definition related to colloidal chemistry. In modern technical usage, the definition above is standard. The core concept in both is separation through a membrane combined with evaporation, but contemporary use applies it broadly to liquid mixtures, not solely colloidal solutions.
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the concentration of a colloidal solution whose colloid will not pass through a semipermeable membrane; solution is placed in a bag of the membrane and the solvent is evaporated off
