Ethyl cellulose (EC) membrane has mainly been used for separation of light gases, such as He, O2, N2, CH4, CO2, propane, and propylene. The hydroxyl groups on the glucose unit of cellulose can be substituted with epoxy groups up to about 55 %, where ethyl cellulose exhibits good thin film-forming ability, excellent mechanical properties and durability, outstanding gas separation performance, and cost-effectiveness. Ethyl cellulose can be dissolved in organic solvents (e.g., chloroform) and ethyl cellulose thin film can be formed via solvent evaporation. The “nonporous” ethyl cellulose membrane has been used to separate light gases, where the solubility coefficient and the diffusion coefficient are two major parameters to determine the membrane performance for gas separation. This performance is also influenced by the content of epoxy groups, which vary with different manufacturers (Houde et al. 1997; Li et al. 2001; Ito et al. 1989) (Fig. 1).
Etherification of cellulose with...
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Ma, H., Hsiao, B.S., Chu, B. (2015). Ethyl Cellulose (EC) Membrane. In: Drioli, E., Giorno, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Membranes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40872-4_2133-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40872-4_2133-1
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