Modeling of the Permeate Flux during Microfiltration of BSA-Adsorbed Microspheres in a Stirred Cell.
A study on the variation of the permeate flux was performed in a stirred cell charged with microspheres, to investigate the effects of the stirrer speeds (300, 400, and 600 rpm) and the BSA concentration (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 g/L) under constant pressure. The permeate flux increased over time before the saturation point, but it began to decrease after that point. An increase of the BSA concentration and the stirrer speed resulted in the rapid increase of the permeate flux. This is contrary to the observation of the conventional filtration experiments using a stirred cell. A resistance-in-series model was employed for the modeling of the permeate flux. The cake resistance (R(c), induced by the concentration polarization of microspheres) and the fouling resistance (R(f), induced by the adsorption of BSA inside the membrane pore) must be considered simultaneously for the modeling. These modeling results were in good agreement with the experimental data. These can be applied to the special system considering both R(c) and R(f) as well as the general filtration systems using a stirred cell. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Nanosphere Process and Technology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Sudaemoon-ku, Seoul, 120-749, Korea
SW
Choi
JY
Yoon
S
Haam
JK
Jung
JH
Kim
WS
Kim