Zeolite MFI membranes have been targeted for potential applications in many research fields such as separation and catalysis and therefore attracted a great deal of research interest worldwide. Pure silica zeolite MFI membrane, ascribed to its strong hydrophobicity, exhibits high separation performance for ethanol/water mixtures. Recent advances of zeolite MFI membrane utilized for ethanol aqueous solution pervaporation separation are reviewed in this paper. The effect of preparation strategies including synthesis method (in situ crystallization and seeding method), membrane support, synthesis solution composition, synthesis condition (synthesis temperature and time), and calcination condition on the separation performance of the synthesized zeolite MFI membranes are demonstrated in detail. The underlying separation mechanism investigated by both of the experimental research and the theoretical simulation are summarized. The findings provide useful guidelines for the preparation and/or post-synthesis of zeolite MFI membrane. Based on the extensive discussion of the merits and demerits of various preparation strategies, the research trends of zeolite MFI pervaporation membranes are prospected.

Contents
1 Introduction
2 The effect of synthesis method on membrane performance
2.1 In situ hydrothermal synthesis
2.2 Seeded growth
2.3 Comparison between in situ hydrothermal synthesis and seeded growth
3 The effect of membrane support on membrane performance
3.1 The effect of membrane support on separation factor
3.2 The effect of membrane support on permeation flux
4 The effect of synthesis solution on membrane performance
5 The effect of synthesis condition on membrane performance
6 The effect of calcination condition on membrane performance
7 Separation mechanism
8 Summary and outlook