DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF VERY HIGH-FLUX MICROFILTRATION MEMBRANES

Inorganic microfiltration membranes with a pore size down to 0.1 mu m have been made using laser interference lithography and silicon micro machining technology. The membranes have an extremely small flow resis tance due to a thickness smaller than the pore size, a high porosity a nd a very narrow pore size distribution. They are relatively insensibl e to fouling, because they have a smooth surface, short pore channels and because they can be operated in cross flow configuration at very l ow transmembrane pressures. Experiments with yeast cell filtration of beer show a minimal fouling tendency and a flux that is about 40 times higher than in conventional diatomaceous earth filtration. The unifor m pore distribution makes the membranes suitable for many other applic ations like critical cell to cell separation, particle analysis system s, absolute filtrations and model experiments. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce B.V. All rights reserved.