Clarification and concentration with membrane technology of a phycocyanin solution extracted from Spirulina platensis

摘要

Membrane technologies were investigated with the aim to improve stability of C-Phycocyanin extracts resulting from ultrasonic breakage of Spirulina platensis. Five membranes, ranging from microfiltration to reverse osmosis, were utilized both for clarification and concentration steps. Nanofiltration with tubular organic membranes exhibited good performances: pigment recovery was 100%, mean permeation flux was 85 1 h~(-l) m~(-2) for achieving a concentration factor of 7 with 30 x 10~5 Pa pressure and 1.5 m s~(-1) tangential velocity (turbulent flow).