Compositions and processes are disclosed for economical separation of
fluid mixtures. Broadly, the present invention discloses ionic polymer
compositions that are useful for perm-selective membrane separations.
More particularly, ionic polymers of the invention comprise a plurality
of repeating structural units having as a constituent part thereof
organic ionic moieties consisting of nitrogen containing anions and/or
cations. In the form of non-porous membranes, ionic polymers of the
invention facilitate recovery of purified organic and inorganic products
from fluid mixtures by means of perm-selective membrane separations. The
present invention also provides methods for forming the ionic polymers,
for example by treating selected nitrogen-containing organic polymers
with acids, or treating a polymeric material comprising a plurality of
carboxylate groups with an amine. Ionic polymer compositions of the
invention are particularly useful for simultaneous recovery of a permeate
product of an increased concentration, and a desired non-permeate stream,
from a fluid mixture containing at least two compounds of different
boiling point temperatures.