Harvesting and Separation Technique of Porphyridium cruentum Polysaccharide Using Ultrafiltration Membrane

Red microalga Porphyridium cruentum secreting polysaccharides into its medium culture. Harvesting<br />and separation of polysaccharide of P. cruentum usually use centrifugation and in large scale needs high<br />cost. The use of ultrafiltration membrane can be one of the alternatives for harvesting and separation of<br />P. cruentum polysaccharide. This study aimed to determine the characteristic of membrane and permeat<br />from harvesting and separation of P. cruentum polysaccharide using ultrafiltration. Research consisted of<br />four stages : membrane characterization, cultivation of P. cruentum, harvesting using 0.05 μm ultrafiltration<br />membrane, and polysaccharide separation using 0.01 μm ultrafiltration membrane. Characterization of<br />membrane permeability and internal resistance on ultrafiltration 0.05 μm dan 0.01 μm were 137.32 L/m2hbar<br />and 62.38 L/m2hbar and 0.01 barm2h/L and 0.02 barm2h/L, respectively. Harvesting using ultrafiltration 0.05<br />μm produced flux 131.37-94.75 L/m2h, biomass rejection 96% and permeate with OD (Optical Density) (0.01<br />± 0.00), viscosity (2.4 ± 0.17 cp), pH (8 ± 0.00), and salinity (42.37 ± 0.11 ‰). Separation of polysaccharide<br />using ultrafiltration 0.05 μm produced flux 58.11-51.53 L/m2h and permeate with viscosity (2.2 ± 0.30 cp),<br />pH (7.8 ± 0.01), and salinity (38.73 ± 0.05 ‰). Ultrafiltration process decreased OD, viscosity, and salinity<br />of permeate.<br />