Study of the loading capacity profile for filtration process of media containing antifoam agent

The formation of foam in industries such as bioprocess, pharmaceutical, and wastewater has proven to be a nuisance to manufacturers worldwide. Foam can be detrimental to machinery and product quality and must be removed from the system. Antifoam can be added to the system to combat formation of foam however can provide an adverse effect if not chosen correctly and at an accepted amount. Most often, a process will produce a liquid that must be filtered to increase its purity. When a medium is to undergo a filtration process, care must be taken to decrease or avoid the fouling of the filtration membrane which adds to the processing cost. Therefore, this research focuses on how the addition of antifoam at varying concentrations may affect the filtration membrane and overall process. Specifically, a filtration process operating at dead-end with a nutrient rich broth as its medium is to be studied. Varying amounts of antifoam is passed through the membrane to observe whether if the presence of antifoam will cause a detrimental effect to the process or not. It was determined that the presence of antifoam did not cause an increase in the system’s resistance but rather decrease it. Fouling was caused by the nutrient rich broth adhering to the membrane surface. When antifoam was added, it bonded to the hydrophobic parts of the broth and made the overall medium more hydrophilic. When used with the hydrophobic membrane, it allowed the medium to pass through more readily than with pure LB broth. To further enhance this study, future researchers could explore different types of membranes that are both hydrophobic and hydrophilic to compare which are more suited when dealing with broth and antifoam.