ENHANCEMENT OF ULTRAFILTRATION BY GAS SPARGING WITH FLAT SHEET MEMBRANE MODULES

Gas sparged ultrafiltration has been applied to a flat sheet membrane module and the enhancing effect from the injected bubbles is examined experimentally. Two membranes, polysulphone (PS) and polyethersulfone (PES), were used in the experiments, and four proteins, human serum al bumin (HSA), human immunoglobulin G (IgG), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (Lys), were chosen as the test media. The effects of gas sparging on permeate flux, single protein transmission and protein fra ctionation have been investigated. Experimental results show that gas sparging can increase permeate flux and improve the efficiency of prot ein fractionation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.