Patent ID: 6913696

Claim:
A pervaporation process for partial or essentially complete separation of the components of a feed mixture comprised of organic liquids using a homogeneous polymeric membrane having an upstream side and a downstream side, which process comprises the steps of: contacting said feed mixture with the upstream side of the membrane whereby a component of the mixture having a relatively higher polarity or said mixture enriched in this component is selectively sorbed into said upstream side of the membrane and selectively diffuses to the downstream side of the membrane; desorbing said component having a relatively higher polarity or said mixture enriched in this component from said downstream side of the membrane; and recovering a component of the mixture having a relatively lower polarity or said mixture enriched in this component from said upstream side of the membrane; wherein said membrane comprises a polymerized alkene including pendant groups of formula SO 2 N(R)—A—QX where R is H or alkyl, A is alkylene, Q is quaternary ammonium, and X is a negatively-charged counter-ion, the sulfur content of said membrane being in the range of from about 3 to about 10 wt. %; provided that at least two said components of said feed mixture have polarities which differ from each other.