Convection-enhanced mass transfer in aggregated beads for gel chromatography

Convection-enhanced mass transfer in aggregated kappa-carrageenan beads was assessed using experimental and mathematical modeling studies. Aggregated beads, prepared from subsidiary beads in a fluidized bed, were employed for gel chromatography of proteins. The efficiency of a chromatography column was measured by the plate height. The plate height of the aggregated beads was much lower than that of conventional carrageenan beads of the same size . This was attributed to intraparticle convection, which occurred even at r elatively low flow rates due to the large intraparticle channels resulting from the low degree of aggregation. A general equation for predicting the r educed plate height was modified by using an apparent diffusivity in order to incorporate intraparticle convection. The modified equation was in good agreement with experimental data. The protein productivity of an aggregated bead column (mg/h/mL column) was estimated to be six times higher than tha t of a conventional column.