Research Papers by Luiz Antonio Viotto

All the studied parameters influenced the permeate flux. An inter-relationship among them was observed. Crossflow velocity was the major variable responsible for flux increase, although enzyme treatment indicated also a positive effect. Transmembrane pressure did not show any effect in most cases, b

Transmembrane pressure was the major parameter responsible for the fouling layer formation, while the increase of crossflow velocity and the addition of enzyme contributed to diminish the polarized layer. At high transmembrane pressure values, enzyme treatment had more influence in polarized layer r

Analyzing the permeate fluxes together with the values of “A” it can be observed that the better final flux results (60% higher than the lowest flux) occurred in the experiments with high pressures, in spite the flux curve had more accentuated decline. When high velocity and high pressure are used,

The main conclusion obtained from this study is that high cross flow velocity and low transmembrane pressure are recommended to recover the permeate flux of a Al2O3 ceramic membrane used in ultrafiltration of soybean oil and hexane mixture.