Crossflow Microfiltration Characteristics of Lard/Phosphate-Bufferd Saline Emulsion Containing PMMA Particles Using a Vibrating Membrane Filter

Abstract

The crossflow microfiltration process with vibration was experimentally investigated with lard/phosphate- buffered saline emulsion containing PMMA particles. This emulsion was used as a model sample for filtration washing and concentrating mononuclear cells in bone marrow in the case of the regenerative liver therapy. The experimental results showed that the use of vibration on a filter was effective to maintain a high filtration flux of the oil in water emulsion containing solid particles. Excessive vibration resulted in a compact cake structure, leading to a decrease in filtration flux. For a quasi-steady state filtration rate, optimum operational conditions were found to exist in the range of this experiment.