This work shows the performance of cobalt-silica membranes through water desalination via pervaporation process. The aim of this work is to find out the performance of the cobalt oxide as a templating agent in the silica cobalt membranes for water desalination via pervaporation process. It also aims to investigate the water flux and salt rejection of silica cobalt membranes using artificial saline water. The concentration of cobalt oxide as a template for fabricating cobalt-silica membranes were 5 – 35 wt%. The feed solution applied during pervaporation process were 0.3 – 5 wt% NaCl with operating temperatures of 25, 40 and 60 °C. The silica xerogels were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). From the FTIR result, it is known that the higher the concentration of cobalt in the membrane, the more silanol and siloxane groups. Based on BET analysis, Si-Co 35 wt% membrane has largest pore volume (0.129387 cm3g-1). In addition, the highest value of water flux (7.2660 kg.m-2.h-1) and salt rejection (100%) is achieved by Si-Co 5% membrane in 0.3% NaCl feed at 60 °C. The value of water flux decreases and the value of salt rejection increases with increasing feed concentration.
