Crossflow microfiltration process for the separation of biotechnologically produced materials

US4751003A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Henkel Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien · DE

Inventors

• Wilfried Raehse · Goldkronach, DE
• Franz-Josef Carduck · Haan, DE
• Norbert Kuehne · Haan, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 1, 1986
• Grant date: Jun 14, 1988
• Expiry date: May 1, 2006

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S435/814
• WIPO field: Chemical engineering
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention relates to a process for the separation of biotechnologically produced valuable materials form a cell suspension by crossflow microfiltration to obtain an high specific permeate flux while retention stays near 0% for long periods. To enable crossflow microfiltration to be carried out on an industrial scale in biotechnology in the separation of biotechnologically produced extracellular valuable materials from a cell suspension, particularly in the separation of alkaline protease for recovering enzyme, under economically acceptacle conditions, alkaline protease of relatively high molecular weight, more especially enzyme >20,000 daltons, is separated from a fermenter solution using polysulfone tubes having micropore diameters of from 0.3 to 0.5 .mu.m at a rate of flow of the fermenter solution of from 3 to 6 m/s parallel to the membrane surface and with a pressure difference between the concentrate side and the permeate side of 2 bar, the ratio of the mean pore diameter of the membrane to the size of the microorganisms remaining in the concentrate being between 0.15 and 0.85