The Application of Cellulose Acetate Membranes for Separation of Fermentation Broths by the Reverse Osmosis: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Recently, there has been a special research focus on the bioconversion of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) due to its significance in the chemical industry. However, the treatment and separation of fermentation broths is a great challenge. Currently, the reverse osmosis (RO) process is a reliable state-of-the-art technique for separation of biological solutions. This study (as the first to do so) investigated the feasibility of separation of 1,3-PD broths with the use of cellulose acetate (CA) membrane by the RO process. The experiments were carried out using the installation equipped with the plate module, under the transmembrane pressure (TMP) and temperature of 1 MPa and 298 K, respectively. It was found that the used membrane was suitable for broth separation. Indeed, it was noted that 1,3-PD, as a target product, migrated through the membrane; meanwhile, other broth components were rejected in various degrees. Moreover, it was proven that retention of carboxylic acids tended to increase with increasing molecular weight, according to the following order: succinic acid > lactic acid > acetic acid > formic acid. With regards to ions, retention degree increased with the increase of ionic radius and decrease of diffusion coefficient. Finally, it was demonstrated that the CA membrane is resistant to irreversible fouling, which has a positive effect on the economic viability of the process.

Ultrafiltration Membranes Modified with Reduced Graphene Oxide: Effect on Methyl Green Removal from Aqueous Solution

“…This membrane is made of regenerated cellulose acetate in polypropylene, and it has little tolerance to aqueous solutions. In the bibliography, it is shown that cellulose acetates are susceptible to being hydrolyzed [ 17 ].…”

Cellulose Acetate Membranes: Fouling Types and Antifouling Strategies—A Brief Review

“…The CA-RO membranes have been used for desalination [46,48,99,100], to remove ammonium from aqueous solutions [101], a trace of organic compounds and micropollutants are rejected from water more effectively by the CA-RO membranes [102], and fermentation broth separation [103].…”

Fouling of the Nanofiltration Membrane NF270 Used for Separation of Fermentation Broths: Impact of Feed Pretreatment Process

“…The investigations have been focused on the separation of 1,3-PD fermentation broths obtained via glycerol fermentation with the use of Citrobacter freundii bacteria. The detailed information on the fermentation process conditions have been presented in several previous articles [39,45,48,49]. After the fermentation, the broths contained bacteria; 1,3-PD; glycerol; mono-carboxylic acids (lactic, acetic and formic acid) and dicarboxylic acid (succinic acid); and ethanol, as well as residual bacterial growth medium.…”