Study on Evaluation of Ultrafiltration Membranes (I)

Performance of Commercial Ultrafiltration Membranes and Effects of Protain Adsorption

Abstract

The performance of commercially available ultrafiltration membranes was examined at the same condition using the aqueous solutions of polyethyleneglycohols (PEG). The results showed that the pure water flux of the hydrophilic membrane was more stable than that of the hydrophobic ones, and membrane compaction effects were especially observed in the membrane made from the polymer with the flexible vinyl-chain. The molecular weight cut-off of PEG was not sharp in all membrane tested, and they extended over two orders of magnitude in most cases.
The influences of membrane materials were also evaluated from the change of pure water flux in the membranes which were soaked in the solutions containing the albumin (from egg) of 1, 000 ppm. The solutions were prepared at different conditions such as pH and ionic strength. The results indicated that the water flux in the hydrophilic membrane was less affected by the adsorption of the albumin than in the hydrophobic ones. And, it was also shown in the membrane made from the same material that the water flux of the membrane with high separation performance was more stable than that of the membranes with lower ones.