Advanced Topics in Membrane Separation and
Electrophoresis
Class 1 to 4
Dr. Sandeep Kale
Bioprocessing Group
DBT-ICT-Centre for Energy Biosciences, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
of University Matunga, Mumbai-400 019, India
‘Effective’ Isolation and Purification of Bioproducts
1. Solid-Liquid Extraction Adsorptive chromatographic separations
Supercritical fluid extraction Packed bed
Pressurized liquid extraction Fluidized bed
Microwave assisted extraction Actual moving bed (FMB/LSCFB)
Ultrasound assisted extraction Simulated moving bed (SMB)
Flash Chromatography
2. Liquid-Liquid Extraction Centrifugal chromatography
e.g. Centrifugal Extractors
Membrane based separations
e.g. NF, UF, MF
Other isolation & purification techniques (e.g. Crystallization, Distillation,
Effectively Integrated isolation and purification techniques
Membrane separation processes: Introduction
• Definition: A membrane is a thin barrier which allows selective
passage of different species through it.
• This selectivity is utilized for separation.
• The selectivity is due to:
1. Size
2. Shape
3. Electrostatic charge
4. Diffusivity
5. Physicochemical interactions (affinity/ion exchange membranes)
6. Volatility (Pervaporation)
7. Polarity/solubility (Pervaporation, SLM, LEM)
Membrane Separation: TFF - UF, MF, NF
• Isolation biopolymers (proteins)
• Removal of proteins or polymeric
mass from small bioproducts
• Desalting
• Concentration of biopolymers or
small mol. Wt. bioproducts
• Recovery of enzymes during
biotransformation, for recycle
• Integration with adsorptive
separation
Classification of membrane processes based on pore size
Conventional
filtration
Microfiltration
Ultrafiltration
Nanofiltration
Reverse
osmosis
10-10 10 -9 10-8 10 -7 10 -6 10 -5 10 -4 10 -3 10 -2
Pore size (m)
Ionic range Macromolecular Micron Fine particle Coarse
range range range particle range
Osmosis Vs Reverse osmosis
Processing
Membrane separation processes: Applications
• Product concentration, i.e. removal of solvent from solute/s
• Clarification, i.e. removal of particles from fluids, a special
case being sterilization which refers to removal of
microorganisms from fluids
• Removal of solute from solvent, e.g. desalting, desalination,
demineralization, dialysis
• Fractionation, i.e. separation of one solute from another
• Gas separation, i.e. separation of one gas from another
• Pervaporation, i.e. removal of volatiles from non volatiles
(usually solvents)
Driving force in membrane processes
• Transmembrane pressure (TMP)
• Concentration gradient
• Chemical potential
• Osmotic pressure
• Electric field
• Magnetic field
• Partial pressure
• pH gradient
Membrane processes primarily based on species size
• Microfiltration (MF)
– Micron sized pores
– Mainly used for particle-fluid separation
– TMP: 1 to 50 psig
• Ultrafiltration (UF)
– Pores: 10 – 1000 angstroms
– Used for: Concentration, desalting, clarification and fractionation
– TMP: 10 – 100 psig
• Nanofiltration (NF)
– TMP: 40 – 200 psig
• Reverse osmosis (RO)
– TMP: 200 – 300 psig
• Dialysis
– Concentration gradient driven
– Selectivity based indirectly on size
Membrane processes based on principles other than
species size
• Pervaporation (PV)
– Driven by partial pressure
– Selectivity depends on volatility and solubility of species in
membrane
• Gas separation
– Driven by partial pressure
– Selectivity depends on solubility of species in membrane
• Electrodialysis (ED)
– Driven by electric field
– Selectivity depends of charge exclusion
Membrane material
Organic polymers Inorganics
• Polysulfone (PS) • -alumina
• Polyethersulfone (PES) • -alumina
• Cellulose acetate (CA) • Borosilicate glass
• Regenerated cellulose • Pyrolyzed carbon
• Polyamides (PA) • Zirconia/stainless steel
• Polyvinylidedefluoride • Zirconia carbon
(PVDF)
• Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
Membrane structure and morphology
• Symmetrical
• Asymmetrical
Membrane preparation
• Polymer casting
– Precipitation from vapour phase
– Precipitation by evaporation
– Immersion precipitation
– Thermal precipitation
• Other methods
– Stretching
– Sintering
– Slip casting
– Leaching
– Track etching
