Authors: Le Wen Zhihang Zhang Ming Zhao Ramsankar Senthamaraikannan Ramesh Babu Padamati Da‐Wen Sun Brijesh K. Tiwari

Publication Date: 2020

Journal: International Journal of Food Science +Technology

Volume: 55

Pages: 2242-2250

Publisher: Wiely

Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes based on poly(vinyl chloride) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) blends were prepared by the phase inversion method, and the factors governing membrane properties were investigated. The membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The fouling characteristics of the membranes were determined by UF of aqueous solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) over a pH range of 2–9 and varying salt concentrations. The maximum adsorption of the protein on the membrane surface occurred near the isoelectric point (pI 4.8) of BSA, and the presence of the salts increased the fouling of the membrane. The results can be explained in terms of the nature of the membrane polymer and the effect of different ionic environments on the permeability of the deposited protein layer. The net charge on the BSA molecules appears to be a dominant factor in …