The effect of surfactant pretreatment on the ultrafiltration of proteins

✍ Scribed by A.G. Fane; C.J.D. Fell; K.J. Kim

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1985
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 714 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0011-9164
• DOI: 10.1016/0011-9164(85)85051-7

✦ Synopsis

Various ultrafiltration membranes pretreated with nonionic surfactants exhibited enhanced flux for the stirred ultrafiltration of albumin protein solutions . Average flux advantages over untreated membranes were about 20% and the maximum advantage was about 50% for first usage . Flux advantage increased with the number of cycles of usage to about 40% after 10 cycles . The treated membranes declined less per cycle and were easier to clean . Surfactants increased the membrane resistance, but also made the surface more hydrophilic and of smoother appearance . These competing effects resulted in an optimum surfactant loading . Results are presented for the effects of operating conditions and membrane type on flux improvement and data are given on the amounts of protein deposited on untreated and treated membranes .