Membrane fouling in the ultrafiltration of water–protein–sodium chloride model systems

This paper presents ultrafiltration results of model BSA (bovine serum albumin) and MB (myoglobin) solutions prepared with or without NaCl addition. The protein concentrations in the solutions were equal to 0.05 g dm 3 for MB and 0.5 g dm 3 for BSA. The ultrafiltration tests were performed using a laboratory scale unit equipped with 90 mm ceramic disc membranes with a filtration area of 5:6-10-3 m2 and cut-off of 50 or 150 kDa. The tests were run under constant process conditions, i.e. a cross flow volume (CFV) of 5 ms-1, transmembrane pressure (TMP) of 0.2 MPa, temperature of 20 ◦C and NaCl concentration of 0 or 10 wt%. The installation worked in a semi-open mode with a continuous permeate discharge and retentate recycle. The performance of the membranes was measured with the permeate volumetric flow rate, JV (m3m 2s 1) while their selectivity was determined by the protein rejection, R. The paper evaluates and discusses the protein rejection mechanisms as well as the influence of the membrane cut-off and sodium chloride concentration in the feed on the flux decline during the ultrafiltration of BSA and MB. Moreover, it provides an analysis of the first fouling phase by applying usual filtration laws