Although the lignocellulosic material shows positive results, it
still requires more research to be exploited on an industrial scale.
Great efforts are being undertaken to improve ethanol productivity
and reduce the overall production costs. According to Gaykawad
et al. (2013), one of the ways to achieve these goals is to modify
the configuration of the process and perform process integration.
Traditionally, the recovery of ethanol by distillation is a challenge
because of the high costs and energy expenditure required (Vane,
2008). Toward this end, membrane separation processes such as
pervaporation have been used. The great interest in these processes
is mainly because of features such as cost-effectiveness,
high energy efficiency and environmental friendliness.