Microemulsion breakdown by pervaporation technique: effect of the alkyl chain length of n-alkanol, a cosurfactant of the microemulsion.

Two sets of microemulsions, cyclohexane- and water-rich ones, were prepared with the following n-alkanols as cosurfactants: n-propanol, n-butanol, n-pentanol, and n-hexanol. The results showed the influence of the alkyl chain length of the n-alkanol on the permselectivity properties of the pervaporation technique in the breakdown of the microemulsions. The variations of the total flux rate J and the enrichment factor beta were in parallel with the effect of the cosurfactant on the swelling extent of the PDMS membrane.