Carbon Nanotube Membranes for Ethanol Fuel Production By Selective Adsorption Transport

We report the first experimental demonstration of carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes extracting ethanol fuel from dilute water solutions. The principle of separation is preferential adsorption of ethanol in the interior of the CNT, such that water is excluded. The mechanism was demonstrated in a pervaporation process, in which ethanol was preferentially transported through the membrane with high selectivity. These findings confirm molecular dynamics modeling that has previously predicted the utility of CNT membranes in such separation processes.