Recovery of proteins and other biological compounds using fibrous materials: II. Flocculation by polyelectrolyte addition

✍ Scribed by Li Ang Chen; Ruben G Carbonell; George A Serad

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 412 KB
• Volume: 74
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-2575
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4660(199908)74:8<740::aid-jctb112>3.0.co;2-1

✦ Synopsis

Polyelectrolytes have been used in wastewater treatment processes to destabilize colloidal suspensions of proteins, cells and other biological compounds, resulting in ¯occulation. When a solution containing a single model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), is treated with a polyelectrolyte, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), large and strong ¯ocs are formed, which are easily retained by a 20 mm pore size ®lter. However, when a mixture of proteins, cells, and fats from an actual wastewater sample is treated in the same manner, smaller and weaker ¯ocs are observed. An adsorption and ®ltration process for the recovery of valuable biological compounds using cellulosebased ®brous materials has been developed. When used simultaneously with CMC, cellulose acetate and triacetate ®brets (CAF and CTF) resulted in high recovery of biomolecules from solution at very low dosages of both polyelectrolyte and ®brets. CMC interacts with biomolecules by electrostatic interactions and polymer bridging, while CTF/CAF facilitate ¯oc growth by adsorption and bridging of primary particles and by entrapment of small aggregates within their highly ®brillated microstructure.