Blend membranes prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and chitosan (CS) were crosslinked with glutaraldehyde and used in the pervaporation
dehydration of 1,4-dioxane. Membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (X-RD) to assess, respectively, the intermolecular interactions, thermal stability and
crystallinity. Equilibrium sorption studies were carried out in pure liquids and binary mixtures of different compositions of water + 1,4-dioxane
mixtures to assess the polymer–liquid interactions. The crosslinked membrane showed a good potential in breaking the azeotrope of 82 wt.%
aqueous 1,4-dioxane giving a selectivity of 117 with a reasonable water flux of 0.37 kg/m2 h. The effect of operating parameters such as feed
composition, membrane thickness and permeate pressure was evaluated.
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