Abstract: The composite membrane consisting of zeolites KA,NaA,CaAor NaXand poly vinyl alcohol polymer were prepared.The pervaporation and separation characteristics of different alcohol-water systems through these membranes were investigated at temperatures ranging from 20℃ to 50℃-Distinct improvement on molecular transport and the molacular sieving effect of the zeolites have been observed.The addition of zeolite filler to PVAmembrane appears to improve the flux of the membrane in various alcohol/water systems.The order of the increment of flux is.NaX>CaA>NaA>KA, which runs parallel to the increase in pore size of the zeolites.The separation factor of the zeolite-filled membranes can be increased or decreased depending on the kind of zeolite filled and the size of the alcohol molecule.For CH₃OH/H₂Oand C₂H₅OH/H₂Osystems, at a higher temperature the flux of the KAfilled membrane is improved, while its separation factor remains unchanged.Hence the performance of KAfilled membrane in the separation of CH₃OHand C₂H₅OHfrom aqueous mixtures is better than that of the unfilled PVAmembrane.The esterification of acetic acid by ethanol is aided by the KAmembrane, and the time required to attain 95% conversion is reduced by 9 h as compared with the unfilled PVAmembrane.For the esterification of salicylic acid by methanol, the addition of KAinto the membrane increases the reaction conversion by 1.2 times as well.

Key words: Poly vinyl alcohol pervaporation membrane, Zeolite-filled membrane, Aicohol/water separation, Catalytic esterification