Determination of the liquid pool surfactant and protein concentration for semi-batch foam fractionation columns

Abstract

A model is derived for the change with time of the concentration of a surface-active component in the liquid pool of a semi-batch foam fractionation process. The transport of surface-active material to the gasliquid interface was assumed to be limited by the mass transfer rates, and the concentration of the adsorbed material at the interface was assumed to be in equilibrium with the concentration of liquid adjacent to the bubble gas surface. This model was compared to experimental data obtained for semi-batch foam fractionation of aqueous solutions of bovine serum albumin and cetyltrimetylammonium bromide.