Sorption gravimetric and volumetric techniques performed at 25 degrees C and at atmospheric pressure were employed to study the preferential and total sorptions from binary liquid mixtures of toluene + lower aliphatic alcohols (C-1 - C-6) in a high-pressure low-density polyethylene membrane and the volume of the swollen membrane. Toluene was preferentially sorbed in all six systems. The total sorbed amount increased from pure alcohol to pure toluene. The experimental volume of the swollen membrane was compared with that calculated under the assumption that interactions between the polymer and liquid mixture were negligible. The composition of the binary liquid mixture sorbed in the polymer as a function of the composition of the bulk solution surrounding the membrane is presented. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119: 1781-1787, 2011