The study of metabolite-separation using an electromicrofiltration appratus

This study was performed to investigate the recovery of dissolved metabolic constituents produced during fermentation, using an electromicrofiltration apparatus. Filtration experiments were performed with crude and with permeate from electromicrofiltration and microfiltration. The results of each method were compared with a focus on measuring the enhancement of the filtrate flux with the application of an electric field. Hydraulic electrofiltration was found to significantly improve filtration and serves as an interesting alternative to cross-flow filtration for the separation of advantagenous constituents, such as amino acids and biopolymers from the fermentation broth.