Ceramic Filtration in The Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry: Applications and Examples

摘要

Bioprocessing operations are utilized in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry with a significant number of operations relying on the microbiological conversion or product production. Cross-flow ceramic filtration of bacterial cells and/or conversion products (i.e. enzymes) has many advantages over traditional separation techniques including high cell/product recovery that is independent of particle size and the ability to maintain relatively high production rates (flux). It has been observed in field observations that flux enhancement when filtering microorganisms after fermentation reactions and from other bioreactor systems is critical to decrease life-cycle costs of membrane systems. Flux enhancement can be performed on-line by using various methods such as filtrate backpulsing, increasing cross-flow velocity, and using membrane inserts to create turbulence. The use of ceramic filters is amenable to vigorous backpulsing operations due to the inherent mechanical strength of membrane elements. This paper briefly examines the performance and design considerations of ceramic filtration technologies for common biotechnology and pharmaceutical filtration applications where bacterial cell harvesting or removal is required. Discussion focuses on the importance of vigorous flux enhancement techniques (backpulsing) on overall system performance and product quality. Application examples from industry are also presented and evaluated.