Filtration of Uncharged Solutes: An Assessment of Steric Effect by Transport and Adsorption Modelling

Simona M Miron,Arnaud Ponche,Patrick Dutournié

doi:10.3390/w11102173

Abstract

The major aim of this work was to understand and estimate the evolution of the membrane selectivity of neutral solutes after the filtration of protein or amino acid solutions. Classical methodologies led to the estimation of the mean pore radius, different for each filtrated neutral solute. The use of pore size distribution from nitrogen adsorption/desorption experiments enabled a good description of hydraulic and selectivity performances. The modification of the membrane hydraulic properties after the successive filtration of protein solutions revealed that the decrease is quasi linear, the same for all the studied membranes and independent of prior tests. According to the experimental observations, an adsorption model was developed, considering a layer by layer adsorption in the larger pores of the membrane. The predictive obtained results are in good agreement with the experimental rejection rates, validating the assumptions.

Highlights

Membrane-based technology offers a reliable option in a growing market to the standard separation processes [1]
Neutral solute filtrations are mainly used for characterizing membranes
The TiO2 layer was observed by scanning electron microscopy (Philips XL30 First FEG, SEMTech Solutions, North Billerica, MA, USA)

Summary

Introduction

Membrane-based technology offers a reliable option in a growing market to the standard separation processes (especially in terms of power consumption, addition of chemical reagents, and operating convenience) [1]. Membrane separation technology is widely used to separate, concentrate, and rectify solutions for various purposes (for example, waste treatment, water desalination, purification of pharmaceuticals) in many industrial sectors (food, medicine, waste decontamination, chemical, textile industries) [2,3,4,5]. They are used for the separation of neutral solutes from aqueous solutions (proteins for food industry, vitamins, peptides, drugs in general for the medicine industry) [6,7]. Schaerp et al [10]

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