P. Jaouen et al., The shear stress of microalgal cell suspensions (Tetraselmis suecica) in tangential flow filtration systems: the role of pumps, BIORES TECH, 68(2), 1999, pp. 149-154
A widely used technique for cell harvesting is crossflow microfiltration. T
he relative fragility of microalgae requires choosing a suitable pumping sy
stem. Tetraselmis suecica, which is a very mobile alga, is an interesting m
odel for this study. The extent of damage observed in various pumps was mea
sured as a function of the number of passes of the algal suspension through
the pumps in a closed loop. A loss of microalgal motility could occur with
either centrifugal or rotary vane positive displacement pumps. On the cont
rary, electronic microscope observation revealed that, during concentration
using an eccentric rotor pump or a peristaltic pump, microalgae were not d
amaged. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.