Title of article :
Cleaning Potential of Surfactin on Fouled Ultrafiltration (UF) Membranes
Author/Authors :
MOHD ISA, MOHD HAFEZ Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) - Faculty of Science and Technology, Malaysia , FRAZIER, RICHARD A. University of Reading - Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, United Kingdom , JAUREGI, PAULA Universiti of Reading - Department of Food Biosciences, United Kingdom
Abstract :
Biosurfactants are microbially produced surface active agents that offer better biodegradability and lower toxicity than chemically synthesized surfactants because of their biogenetic origin. One of the most surface-active biosurfactants known is surfactin, a cyclic lipopeptide produced by various strains of Bacillus subtilis. In this study, the cleaning potential of surfactin on ultrafiltration (UF) membranes fouled with BSA was studied using centrifugal UF devices of 50 kDa and 100 kDa MWCO polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. Mechanisms of bovine serum albumin (BSA) displacement by surfactin on fouled UF membranes were studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique and surface tension measurements. Hydrodynamic diameter and surface tension measurements of BSA-surfactin mixtures showed that the surfactin was efficient in displacing BSA fouled on UF membranes due to strong electrostatic repulsive interactions involved at pH8.5. This study demonstrated that surfactin can be used to effectively clean fouled UF membranes.
Keywords :
Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) , hydrodynamic diameter , surface tension measurements , surfactin , ultrafiltration (UF)
