Ultrafiltration Behavior of Organic Mixtures Simulating Sweetwater Solutions

Abstract

In the present study, attempts were made to examine the filtration behavior of organic mixtures (oleic acid-triglycerides) compared to single organic solute (triglycerides) contained in synthetic glycerol-water solutions (known as sweetwater). Furthermore, the rejections of individual solutes were studied. The TG-FA mixtures permeated preferentially when compared with single TG which is mainly due to the solubility as well as diffusivity of small fatty acid in the TG-FA mixtures. Furthermore, PVDF membrane provided higher fluxes and experienced less fouling than PES membrane for both cases. In case of the PVDF membrane the rejection of fatty acid was 6.20% while oil rejection in glycerol-water plus TG and TG-FA mixtures was 82.42% and 84.67%, respectively. However, the PES membrane underwent higher fatty acid rejection (20.93%) as well as oil rejection in single TG (94.70%) and TG-FA mixtures (91.08%). It is noteworthy that the nature of the membrane, membrane MWCO, and the feed characteristics had a significant effect on the fouling potential and filtration performance.