Commercial polymeric pervaporation (PV) membranes from polyvinyl(alcohol) (PVA) and polyimide (PI) were developed in the past for dehydration of first generation bioethanol produced from clean sources such as wheat and corn. Today, second and third generation bioethanol is produced from non-food crops (i.e. wood, organic waste or specific biomass crops) and contains impurities (e.g. organic acids, furfural, aldehydes, etc.) that cause damage on the aforementioned membrane materials, and thus, these membranes cannot be applied in dehydration of second and third generation bioethanol.

DeltaMem in cooperation with UniBas has decided to develop a more robust membrane to bring PV to the next level. The project innovation is to develop a membrane resistant to acetaldehyde (present in bioethanol at concentrations of 100-150ppm), because it is the most poisonous contaminant for the existing commercial membranes. The research and development will be based on molecular manipulation of commercial and alternative new polymeric materials at nanometer scale, i.e. by inducing polymer nanocrystallites formation, by increasing the polymer entanglement and by chemical cross-linking. The development of new or improved fabrication methods is also part of the project.

UniBas (with plenty of experiencie on synthesis, molecular manipulation and nanotechnology) and DeltaMem (leader in manufacturing and supplying PV membranes and plants worldwide) will develop the membrane in the laboratory, at pilot and large scale and intensively test it with real bioethanol feedstock to validate its stability under presence of above mentioned impurities, especialllly acetaldehyde. At the same time, the membrane should exhibit acceptable separation properties for dehydration of bioethanol and should be feasible for production and commercialization.

Therefore, the main objective of the project is to develop an new commercial polymeric membrane resistant towards acetaldehyde present in bioethanol.