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CHEM-E3140 Bioprocess technology II

Filtration & centrifugation

Tan Zheng Ting 637839


Feng Jianhui 663308
Elias Veijola 352541
5.12.2017
Contents

1. Introduction

2. Filtration

2.1. Theory & Mechanism

2.2. Classification

2.3. Parameters

3. Centrifugation

3.1. Theory & Mechanism

3.2. Classification and Parameters

4. Case Study

4.1. Industrial applications

4.2. Filtration

4.3. Centrifugation

4.4. Harvesting of Microalgae

5. Discussion

5.1. Challenge and solution

5.2. Potential Trends

6. Conclusion

References
1. Introduction
With the increase in standard of living and the increase in consumption, there has
been an increase in pressure on industries that produce consumables, such as food,
water and pharmaceuticals to produce cleaner products. This requires the industries
to focus on separation techniques, such as filtration and centrifugation. However,
these two methods are already being widely used in these industries to ensure
cleaner products. Hence, there is an increase in emphasis on industries to develop
more cost effective and yet, efficient separation techniques to ensure cleaner
products for consumers, as well as maintaining reasonable prices.

2. Filtration
Filtration is a process used to separate solids from liquids or gases using a filter
medium that allows the fluid but not the solid to pass through, and it is one of the
most common methods for the downstream processing of products.

2.1. Theory & Mechanism


Filtration is a solid-liquid separation where the liquid passes through a porous filter
medium to remove fine suspended solids according to the size by flowing under a
pressure differential. The filter media should possess following properties: an
appropriate porosity, chemical resistance to the filtrate, sufficient mechanical
strength and thermal resistance. A clear filtrate passing through medium can be
collected with driving force, such as pressure difference, vacuum, concentration
gradient, valence or electrochemical affinity.
2.2. Classification
(1) Microfiltration
Microfiltration is defined as a membrane separation process using membranes with
a pore size of approximately 0,02μm up to 10μm, Materials removed by MF include
sand, silt, algae, and some bacterial species, but MF is not an absolute barrier to
viruses. In its normal operation, MF removes little or no organic matter, it can be
used as a pretreatment to RO or UF to reduce fouling potential.
The membranes utilized in MF can be divided in two classes: In depth and screen
membranes. The difference between them is the pore size and particle capture site:
In depth membranes have small pores that capture the particles on the surface on
the membrane and screen membranes have larger pores which capture the particles
in the membrane interior.

(2) Ultrafiltration
Ultrafiltration membrane filtration (UF) is a low pressure membrane process for
water treatment that is designed to remove turbidity causing particles including
those comprised of suspended solids, bacteria, colloidal matter and proteins.
The main separation mechanism of UF membrane filtration is size exclusion or
sieving and the graphic illustrates that UF effectively removes particles in the size
range of less than 0.01 to 0.1 mm. Effective removal of these contaminants in a
source water results in a filtrate well suited for further treatment by downstream
reverse osmosis (RO).
The UF process is used in a wide variety of applications and industries and typical
feed sources include seawater, surface, well and waste waters.

(3) Reverse osmosis


Reverse osmosis is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable
membrane to remove ions, molecules, and larger particles from drinking water. In
reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a
colligative property, which is driven by chemical potential differences of the solvent,
a thermodynamic parameter.
Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended species from
water, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial processes and the production
of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of
the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be
"selective", this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the
pores (holes), but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as solvent
molecules) to pass freely.

2.3. Parameters
The rate of flow of filtration process is given by the following equation:

(1) Permeability coefficient


The constant (K) represents the resistance of both the filter medium and the filter
cake. As the thickness of the cake increase, the rate of filtration will decrease. Also
the surface area of the particles, the porosity of the cake, and rigidity or
compressibility of the particles could affect the permeability of the cake.

(2) Area of filter medium


The total volume of filtrate flowing from the filter will be proportional to the area of
the filter. The area can be increased by using larger filters. In the rotary drum filter,
the continuous removal of the filter cake will give an infinite area for filtration.

(3) Pressure drop


The rate of filtration is proportional to the pressure difference across both the filter
medium and filter cake. The pressure drop can be achieved in a number of ways:
gravity, vacuum, pressure and centrifugal force.

(4) Viscosity of filtrate


It would be expect that an increase in the viscosity of the filtrate will increase the
resistance of flow, so that the rate of filtration is inversely proportional to the
viscosity of the fluid.

(5) Thickness of filter cake


The rate of flow of the filtrate through the filter cake is inversely proportional to
thickness of the cake.Preliminary decantation may be useful to decrease the amount
of the solids.

3. Centrifugation
Centrifugation is one of the most important and widely applied separation
techniques used in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology as well as in
medicine. Currently, it is widely used from laboratory scale to large-scale industrial
in applications such as isolation of cells, subcellular organelles and macromolecules.
A Centrifuge utilizes centrifugal force (g-force) to isolate particles from their
surrounding media or to separate immiscible liquids from each other. [Majekodunmi S.
2015] In general bioprocesses it is used in the primary and intermediate recovery
stages as was presented in figure 1, where high throughput and low resolution
separation is needed. [Petrides D. et al. 1989]

3.1. Theory & Mechanism


Centrifugation separates particles from a liquid medium according to their size,
shape, density, viscosity of the liquid and rotor speed. The separation principle is
similar to gravitational sedimentation of particles, but the driving force is larger due
to high speed rotating liquid. Particles, in a solution, distinguish from each other by
density differences. The higher the density, the faster they will move to walls of the
tube and accumulate. The density differences in macromolecules are rather small
and gravitation alone is not efficient enough. When gravity is replaced with
centrifugal force these small differences can be utilized. [Taulbee et al. 2009]

The basic concept behind centrifugation can be described in four different physical
laws. Direction of the forces and a schematic picture of the particle in centrifugal
field is shown in figure 1. Buouancy force (F b) and Frictional force Ff are opposite
forces in relation to Centrifugal force Fc. In consequence, the forces that apply to a
particle, that is denser than the solution, can be expressed with two forces F c and
gravitational force Fg as shown in equation 1 and 2.

𝐹𝐹 = 𝐹𝐹 (1)

𝐹𝐹 = 𝐹𝐹 = 𝐹𝐹2 𝐹 (2)

where m is the mass of the


particle, g is the acceleration due
gravity, w is the angular velocity
and x is the distance from center of
rotation

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1 Schematic illustration of forces


affecting in particle in centrifugal field. [Taulbee et al. 2009]
In research results as well as in scientific articles the value that is in most cases
referred is the relative centrifugal force (RCF). This force can be expressed with the
help of centrifugal and gravitational force as shown in equation 5.

𝐹 (𝐹2 𝐹) 𝐹𝐹𝐹
𝐹𝐹𝐹 = 𝐹𝐹 = = 1.118 ∗ 𝐹(1000)2 (3)
𝐹 𝐹

Additionally, variables in this equation can be rearranged to achieve more simple


equation that depends only on angular speed of the centrifuge in revolution per
minute (rpm) and on the distance from center of rotation, rotor size (x) in
millimeters. The RCF value is unitless and it is expressed in more commonly
known unit g, where 1g expresses the earth’s gravity field. [Taulbee et al. 2009]
3.2. Classification & Parameters

Small scale centrifuges can be generally divided according to their rotor type. As
stated before the rotor size is a variable in the RCF value. It also varies depending
on the type of centrifuge used. These centrifuges can be divided to three general
mechanisms: Fixed angle rotor, vertical tube rotor and swinging bucket rotor, as
shown in figure 2. Each of these have their advantages in specific applications.

In swinging bucket rotor the distance rmax to rmin is greatest, which may allow
higher resolution in density gradient centrifugation, as expressed in figure by the
blue lines. Also, with swinging bucket rotor the supernatant is easier to remove
without disturbing the pellet. Fixed angle rotor have intermediate running time
and are excellent for pelleting applications. Vertical tube rotors have shortest
running time due to the shortest distance from rmax to rmin. They are
exceptionally good in isopycnic separation, due to the short pathlength.

Swinging Bucket Rotor

Fixed Angle Rotor


Rotation direction
of axis

Vertical Tube rotor


Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2
Different rotor technologies [Siggard,
R. 2008]

Commonly these centrifuges are used in small volumes for separating small
particle from liquid. As shown in figure 3. The small cells, organellas and their
building materials can be separated to the smallest particle using density
gradient centrifugation. This centrifugation technique uses several steps where
the supernatant, after pellet formation, is removed and centrifugation is
continued.

Figure 3 Differentiation of cells, organellas and their constitution substances [Siggard, R. 2008]

While small scale centrifuges can be divided depending on their rotor type, there
are still wide variety of other properties that differentiate these from each other.
The general differences between centrifuges are features such as: rotor speed,
presence or absence of vacuum, general manipulation of temperature, maximum
sample volume and fed type, continuous or batch. However, Industrial
centrifuges can be divided into two categories depending on their general
operation principle: termed sedimentation centrifuges and filter centrifuges.
[Koolman J. et al. 2005]

Chemical Industry Pharmaceutical Environmental Food and agri-


biotechnology Industry business
● Synthetic product ● Cell recovery ● Wastewater ● Sugar crystal
recovery ● Valuable isolate treatment recovery
● Gas phase isotope recovery ● Removal of metal ● Milk processing
separation ● Clarification of cuttings ● Frying oil
fermentation recycle
broths
Table 1 Industrial applications of centrifugal separation
Sedimentation centrifuges are the conventional type, where the denser particles
are transported to the periphery wall of the rotating object. The liquid flows out
of the closely packed solids, which results separation of two different phases.
There are many subgroups of sedimentation centrifuges such as disc bowl.
decanter, hydrocyclone and solid bowl centrifuge. Each of these types have their
optimal particle size separation range which varies from 0.1 – 100 000
µm.[Beveridge T. 2000] In the bioprocessing industry, a commonly used centrifuge is
a decanter centrifuge, as shown in figure 4. Its main purpose is to separate solid
materials from liquids in slurry. It is normally used in large scale operations due
to high operation costs, and there are many factors to be considered as well,
such as the magnitude of the centrifugal force as well as the differential speed.

Figure 4 Decanter centrifuge

Filter centrifuges utilize the help of filter material together with centrifugal
forces. The particles are drifted towards the surface of the filter due to
centrifugal force gradient. Filter traps the solids and allows the liquid to run
through. [Beveridge T. 2000] Optimal process would utilize the advantages of
centrifugation and filtration for cost effective product manufacturing.
4. Case Study

4.1. Industrial Applications

Filtration and centrifugation have many industrial applications, such as in the


water, food, pharmaceutical as well as the bioprocessing industry. [Industrial
Centrifuges, http://centritechinc.com/08-industrial-centrifuges.html] A common factor
between all these industries would be the need to remove contaminants
present, be it either visible solutes or microorganisms, so as to obtain a cleaner
final product. However, filtration and centrifugation systems do not work alone;
due to the limitations of both separation methods, they are often used together
in either the clarification of solvents, or obtaining of the solute product. [Bux, F.
2013]

4.2. Filtration
Industrial filtration systems are not as simple as those found in laboratory usage;
filtration systems in these industries are usually more complex and makes use of
more than one filtration to obtain the desired product. This is done so to ensure
a step by step process of removing contaminants, usually starting from the
contaminants of the largest size. This is to prevent the fouling of the membrane
of subsequent filtration systems, as the smaller the contaminant to remove, the
more expensive the membrane would cost to maintain and replace. [Filtration in
Pharmaceutical Production, http://www.criticalprocess.com/LifeSciences/pharmaceutical-
filters.php]

Advantages to using the filtration method in bioprocessing would be that it will


be able to sterilize heat sensitive substances, which is important as many
proteins denature at high heat. Furthermore, filtration methods can be operated
at lower costs than most separation methods. [Cheprasov A.] However, the
filtration method has limitations as well. This method is not able separate out
contaminants that are too small, and the use of membranes with micro-pores
will make it economically disadvantageous to other separation methods.
Furthermore, frequent replacement of the membranes is required to prevent
contamination of the product. [Bux, F. 2013]

4.3. Centrifugation
Advantages of using centrifuges include short harvesting times and reduced labor
required. Also, as compared to other types of separation methods, centrifugation
tends to provide a more reliable recovery of the product and can allow a larger
volume of slurry to be separated at a given time. However, limitations include
high operating costs to maintain the speed of the centrifuge, and the subsequent
maintenance costs. [Grima, E. M., Belarbi, E., Fernández, F. A., Medina, A. R., & Chisti, Y.
2003]

4.4. Harvesting of Microalgae


One example of a bioprocess that uses both filtration and centrifuge systems to
separate the product would be the harvesting of microalgae. The microalgae
industry is one of relevance as microalgae is required for the production of high
value bio-actives and it is also currently considered as an alternative resource to
produce biofuel. Filtration systems are used to remove larger sized microalgae
(>70μm) while centrifugation is used to recover the microalgae of smaller sizes.
These two separation methods are used together due to the own limitations of
the respective methods. More advanced filtration methods, such as
ultrafiltration, can be used to recover microalgae of smaller sizes, however, it will
tend to be too costly due to the frequent replacement of the membranes due to
fouling, and hence, proved to be impractical. A pure centrifugation system on the
other hand would be too costly to maintain, and would be impractical as well.
Research has shown that the using of simple filters, combined with
centrifugation, will attain better results.[Bux, F. 2013]

For filtration, cellulose is first used in filter presses operating under pressure or
vacuum, to obtain a precoat layer. Biomass slurry is then subsequently filtered
through this precoat layer and the settled biomass is then obtained by scraping
off the precoat layer. For centrifugation, a decanter bowl centrifuge is normally
used, and is found to have a 90% to 100% efficiency in recovering the micro-
algae biomass. [Grima, E. M., Belarbi, E., Fernández, F. A., Medina, A. R., & Chisti, Y. 2003]

5. Discussion
5.1. Challenge and solution
Challenge
A filter cake is formed by the substances that are retained on a filter. The filter cake
grows in the course of filtration, becomes "thicker" as particulate matter is being
retained. With increasing layer thickness, the flow resistance of the filter cake increases,
which would decrease the rate of flow of filtration process, leading to inefficient
clarification of products.
Solution
The objective of the filter aid is to prevent the medium from becoming blocked and to
form an open, porous cake, hence reducing the resistance to flow of the filtrate. The
particles must be inert, insoluble, incompressible, and irregular shaped.
Filter aids may be used in either or both two ways:
(1) Pre-coating technique: by forming a pre-coat over the filter medium by filtering a
suspension of the filter aid.
(2) Body- mix technique: A small proportion of the filter aid (0.1-0.5 %) is added to
the slurry to be filtered. This slurry is recirculated through the filter until a clear
filtrate is obtained, filtration then proceeds to completion.

5.2. Potential trends


Currently, trends in industries are pointing towards the single-use technology of
filtration and centrifugation. Single-use disposable technologies will benefit in
two ways, with the first way being lowering operating costs. This technology will
remove the need of the cleaning of vessels, which is a time consuming process.
Furthermore, single-use disposable technology will help to eliminate the use of
various utilities, such as steam, to sterilize the equipment. Research has shown
that the environmental benefits of the reduced energy demand in cleaning
outweighs the increase in waste generated from the disposable usage.
Furthermore, the design of a facility based on single-use technology has been
estimated to have a 40% savings on capital costs as compared to conventional
facilities. The second benefit would the reduction of the risk of contamination.
The constant changing of purification systems will help to ensure that clean
equipment for purification is used for every batch of products. [Shukla, A. A., &
Gottschalk, U. 2013]

6. Conclusions

Based on what we have researched, our group believes that filtration and
centrifugation methods are important pieces of technology that should be
invested in. However, instead of focusing on the technology itself, we believe
that there should be more focus on the economic aspects of these separation
methods. In addition to creating more resilient and strong membranes, there
should also be more focus on firstly, making the systems more cost-effective.
This will help companies reduce the cost of separation and hence, be able to
provide consumers with more affordable consumables. Secondly, there should
also be more focus on making the systems more scalable. Hence, these
separation systems will be able to be used in a cost effective manner for small
scale processes as well.
References

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design. In Chemical Engineering Problems in Biotechnology, vol. 1, M. L. Shuler, ed.,
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and Instrumentation in Separation Science, . Volume 1 edn. Academic Press, pp. 357-367.
[Beveridge T. 2000]
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flexibook, pp. 199-205.
MAJEKODUNMI, S., 2015. A Review on Centrifugation in the Pharmaceutical
Industry. American Journal of Biomedical Engineering, 5(2), pp. 67-78.
TAULBEE, D. and MERCEDES MAROTO-VALER, M., 2009. Centrifugation. In: C. POOLE,
ed, Handbook of Methods and Instrumentation in Separation Science, . Volume 1 edn.
Academic Press, pp. 50-71.
Industrial Centrifuges. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2017, from
http://centritechinc.com/08-industrial-centrifuges.html
Filtration in Pharmaceutical Production. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2017, from
http://www.criticalprocess.com/LifeSciences/pharmaceutical-filters.php
Cheprasov, A. (n.d.). Sterilization by Filtration: Advantages & Disadvantages. Retrieved
November 29, 2017, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/sterilization-by-filtration-
advantages-disadvantages.html
Bux, F. (2013). Biotechnological Applications of Microalgae. Harvesting of Microalgal
Biomass. doi:10.1201/b14920
Decanter Centrifuges by Flottweg. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2017, from
https://www.flottweg.com/product-lines/decanter/
Grima, E. M., Belarbi, E., Fernández, F. A., Medina, A. R., & Chisti, Y. (2003). Recovery of
microalgal biomass and metabolites: process options and economics. Biotechnology
Advances, 20(7-8), 491-515. doi:10.1016/s0734-9750(02)00050-2
Bux, F. (2013). Biotechnological Applications of Microalgae. Harvesting of Microalgal
Biomass. doi:10.1201/b14920
Shukla, A. A., & Gottschalk, U. (2013). Single-use disposable technologies for
biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Trends in Biotechnology, 31(3), 147-154.
doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2012.10.004

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