The cleaning of ultrafiltration membranes fouled by protein

The relationship between membrane fouling and cleaning was investigated in terms of flow conditions, transmembrane pressures, pH, membrane properties, and cleaning agents using a stirred batch cell and aqueous albumin solution. Fouling was less at the pH extremes than at the isoelectric point for both retentive and partially permeable membranes. Membranes with partial permeability showed a greater tendency for fouling and were less responsive to cleaning than retentive membranes. The results in the stirred cell were shown to be similar to those for a crossflow module under similar operating conditions.