Separation of acetonitrile/water with the combination of superwetting membrane and salt-induced phase separation

Efficient recovery of acetonitrile from its aqueous solution is quite important for both cost reduction and avoiding environmental pollution. The current main strategies including pervaporation, absorptive separation, and extractive distillation are limited by their low separation-flux, low separation-capacity, or high energy-consumption. Herein, we combine the design of superwetting membrane and salt-induced phase separation to propose a new approach for purification of acetonitrile from its aqueous solution, which possesses the advantages of high throughput, continuity, and energy conservation.