Investigations on separation properties of ceramic membranes in ultrafiltration process of model myoglobin solutions

The results of investigations on ultrafi ltration process of model myoglobin solutions with use of ceramic membranes have been presented in this work. Myoglobin is a water-soluble globular protein present in muscle tissues of animals, also found in fi sh muscles, and among other fi sh proteins occurring in wastewaters from fi sh processing. Application of ultrafi ltration process for waste brine purifi cation has several adventages [Afonso and Bórquez, 2002]. It enables elimination of undesirable components as well as recovering of valuable products. The presented studies have been undertaken in order to investigate possibilities of applying ultrafi ltration for treatment and fractionation of salted water produced in fi sh processing industry. The results could be a basis for elaboration of a treatment technology enabling recycling of both regenerated salted water and fractionated proteins, thus decreasing water use and wastewater discharge by closure of water loops. Development of membrane processes for waste brine purifi cation requires studies on model solutions of individual proteins including analysis of the membrane selectivity and performance. The aim of the study was assessment of the impact of myoglobin ultrafi ltration process parameters on rejection coeffi cient and permeate fl ux. For further clarifi cation of protein rejection mechanisms, the studies were supplemented with molecular modeling experiments in order to defi ne the size, shape and electrostatic properties of the analyzed protein.