Preparation of seaweed polysaccharide based hydrophobic composite membranes for the separation of oil/water emulsion and protein

• Agarose is a seaweed-based polysaccharide and is widely used for the separation of nucleic acids in molecular biology. Cross-linked agarose beads are also used as solid-phase matrices in size exclusion chromatography for the separation of proteins. To find the application of agarose for the separation of oil/water emulsion and protein, herein hydrophobic derivative of the seaweed biopolymer [M-W (1.27 +/- 0.17) x 10(-5) g/mol; sulphate content (0.29 +/- 0.09) %, gel strength (2242 +/- 21) g/cm(2)] is prepared by reacting the biopolymer with stearic acid and was used to prepare a composite membrane on polyester fabric. The oil and BSA rejection performance of the composite membrane was greater than 98%. The rejection rate increased with the increase in polymer content in the respective membranes for both oil/water and protein separation. The composite membrane showed a stable oil/water emulsion and protein separation performance over a period of six hours. Due to the biodegradable nature of the major components of the membrane, it has the potential for industrial applications.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Annan kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Other Chemistry Topics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Agarose

Stearic acid

Oil/water emulsion

Protein

Composite membrane

Separation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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