Study on the loading capacity profile for filtration process of media containing antifoam: article

The use of membranes is widely common in industries as a means to separate constituents of a liquid. Meanwhile, antifoams are chemicals used in bioprocess to eliminate the formation of foam during a process. It is normally used in conjunction with a nutrient rich broth that is used as a media to cultivate cells. When antifoam is present in a nutrient rich broth and is passed through a membrane, it may cause premature fouling of the membrane used. This study investigates the effects of antifoam presence in a cell free lb broth on the loading capacity of the membrane. That is, it is to investigate whether if antifoam will cause a large increase in overall resistance of the filtration system with membrane capacity. It was discovered that the presence of antifoam did not cause an overall increase to the resistance but rather helped to decrease it as compared to when virgin lb broth was filtered. Therefore, the presence of antifoam in a nutrient rich medium enhanced flux rate in the filtration process which decreases the overall resistance.