Inverse gas chromatography study on the effect of humidity on the mass transport of alcohols in an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer near the glass transition temperature

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was used to study the effect of moisture on transport properties of three low molecular weight alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and 1-butanol) through high barrier copolymers of ethylene-vinyl alcohol with an ethylene content of 38% mol (EVOH38) at 40 °C. The value of the partition coefficient (K) was obtained by using two approaches: (a) the fit of the slope of sorption isotherms obtained through the method of Kiselev and Yashin; and (b) the solution to the model of Romdhane and Danner obtained by using the law of moments. The second method also allowed the estimation of the diffusion coefficient (Dp) at the different humidity conditions. None of these two methods were applicable at low values of relative humidity. With the first method, the diffusion of the permeants through the copolymer was not fast enough to allow them to reach the core of the EVOH particles used as stationary phase resulting in sorption values unrealistically low. The fit of the chromatograms obtained by using the second method also suggested questionable values of the mass transport parameters. Although the theoretical curve perfectly described the chromatogram, the low extent of the interaction and the slow diffusion resulted in interdependent values of the coefficients K and Dp, with infinite pairs of values providing the same curve profile. As the relative humidity of the carrier gas increased, the diffusivity and the sorption of the alcohols also increased, making both methods applicable. In the case of the partition coefficient, the sorption of the biggest molecules (ethanol and 1-butanol) was the most affected, the increment of K for methanol being moderate. As regards the Dp value, methanol was the most influenced compound and 1-butanol the least. Finally, a sharp increment of the Dp of the three alcohols was observed between 35 and 47% RH and attributed to the plasticization of the copolymer.