SHEAR-INDUCED PARTICLE DIFFUSIVITY DURING CROSS-FLOW MICROFILTRATION OF SACCHAROMYCES-CEREVISIAE IN A RADIAL FLOW FILTRATION CHAMBER

A method for experimental observation of the diffusivity of yeast cell s in a suspension undergoing shear is presented. Local filtrate flux a nd cake thickness were measured in a radial flow chamber, which has be en developed for this purpose. From the simultaneous numerical solutio n of the Navier-Stokes equation as well as the material balance equati ons, which govern momentum and material transport in the flat-channel geometry, simulated local flux and cake thickness were obtained for th e same operating conditions as in the experiments. The shear-induced d iffusion coefficient was then estimated after comparing the measuremen ts with simulated values and minimizing the differences between them.