Pore structure of gel chitosan membranes. III. Pressuredriven mass transport measurements

The capillary pore model of water-swollen gels was used to interpret pressure-driven mass transport properties of gel chitosan membranes. Pure water hydraulic permeability coefficients, L_p, and rejection coefficients, R, of 13 solutes ranging in molecular radius from 2.4 Å (methanol) to 16 Å (polyethylene glycol 6000) were measured for an untreated chitosan membrane, for two chitosan membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde of concentrations 0.01 and 0.1% and coated with a protein, and for comparison for a commercial Cuprophan membrane. Pore radii of the membranes were determined from these results by three methods: (1) L_p method that uses water hydraulic permeability coefficient, (2) σ method that uses reflection coefficients, and (3) P/L_p method that uses water diffusive permeability coefficient and water hydraulic permeability coefficient.