Separation and flux characteristics in cross-flow ultrafiltration of bovine serum albumin and bovine hemoglobin solutions

The flux behavior in the separation of equimolar bovine serum albumin (BSA) and bovine hemoglobin (HB) in aqueous solutions by cross-flow ultrafiltration (UF) was investigated, in which polyacylonitrile membrane with a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 100 kDa was used. BSA and HB have comparable molar mass (67,000 vs. 68,000) but different isoelectric points (4.7 vs. 7.1). The effects of process variables including solution pH (6.5, 7.1, and 7.5), total protein concentration (1.48 and 7.40 μM), transmembrane pressure (69, 207, and 345 kPa), and solution ionic strength (with or without 0.01 M NaCl) on the separation were examined. It was shown that the ionic strength had a negligible effect on separation performance under the conditions studied. Although BSA and HB are not rigid bodies, the flux decline in the present cross-flow UF did not result from the mechanism of cake filtration with compression. In this regard, the specific cake resistance when pseudo steady-state was reached was evaluated and discussed.