1991 Volume 17 Issue 3 Pages 470-476
When protein solutions are separated and concentrated by ultrafiltration, protein molecules are accumulated on the membrane due to concentration polarization and form a gel layer with larger filtration resistance. Electro-ultrafiltration is a method that mitigates filtration resistance where an electric field is used to move electrically charged solutes or colloids away from the membrane. In this work electro-ultrafiltration was applied to enzymatic starch hydrolysis and the effect of the electric field on the activity of glucoamylase and ultrafiltration flux was examined experimentally.
An unfavorable effect of the electric field on the enzyme was produced with foam separation and electric denaturation. The loss of activity consisted of two terms, each of which was proportional to the amount of electricity or electric energy. When buffer solution was not used in the electro-ultrafiltration bioreactor (EUFBR) to decrease electric current, filtration flux was much improved with small loss of enzyme activity. The experimental results showed that EUFBR could be effective if the experimental conditions were chosen properly.
