PV · Technology
Pervaporation
Pervaporation separates miscible liquid mixtures by selective sorption and diffusion through a dense polymeric membrane. Unlike distillation, it ignores boiling points; the separation is driven by chemistry, not temperature. That makes it the only practical option for breaking azeotropes such as ethanol/water above 95.6%, or for recovering solvents from water at near-ambient temperature.
What it solves
Performance you can size against.
The outcomes below come from commissioned systems and verified pilots, not theoretical limits. Every number is independently testable on your own feed.
- Solvent recovery rate
- 98 to 99.8%
- Verified on ethanol, isopropanol, methanol, and acetonitrile.
- Energy vs distillation
- 1/4 to 1/2
- No phase change penalty; runs near ambient temperature.
- Azeotropes broken
- Including ethanol/water (95.6% azeotrope), IPA/water, and acetonitrile/water.
- Footprint vs entrainer distillation
- 1/2 to 1/3
- No third stream, no recycle column, no entrainer storage.
How it works
The working principle.
A liquid feed contacts a dense polymeric membrane. The target component (water, or a specific organic) sorbs into the membrane and diffuses through. A vacuum or sweep gas on the permeate side keeps the driving gradient steep. The permeate condenses as a separate phase. The retentate continues through the system at progressively higher purity.
Process diagram
Custom SVG to be added in design phase
Performance envelope
Specs and operating range.
For preliminary sizing only. Production sizing is always validated against your specific feed.
- Permeate purity (water from solvent)
- >99.5wt%
- Operating temperature
- 30 to 80°C
- Operating pressure (feed side)
- 1 to 4bar
- Specific energy
- 100 to 200kWh/m³ feed
- Membrane life (typical)
- 2 to 5years
Where it's deployed
Industries that use this process.
Pervaporation fits some sectors better than others. The industries below are where we have shipped multiple systems.
Have a feed that PV
might fit?
We will pilot before we promise. Send us a sample and a target outcome. If the technology fits, we will tell you what to expect; if it does not, we will tell you that too.