Two-Stage Integrated Ceramic Membrane Reactor System For The Continuous Enzymatic Synthesis Of Oligosaccharides

A new type of ceramic membrane reactor is proposed for the continuous enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides using native enzyme. Beta-Galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) catalyses the hydrolysis of lactose to the monosaccharides glucose and galactose and also the transgalactosylation reaction to produce galactosyloligosaccharides (GOS). GOS are non-digestible oligosaccharides which are recognized as prebiotics. GOS consist of a number of oligosaccharides with varying ß-glycosidic linkages depending on the enzyme source. In this work, the results for the continuous production of GOS from lactose by means of physically-confined ß- Galactosidase in a novel ceramic membrane reactor system are presented

Feasibility Of Using Ceramic Micro-, Ultra- And Nanofiltration Membranes For Efficient Treatment Of Produced Water

Generally, the production of crude oil and natural gas brings to the surface fossil water, termed “produced water.” By far the largest by-product or waste stream by volume associated with oil and gas extraction, this water is always cleaned to some extent and the level of cleaning is determined by the intended use and/or current discharge regulations. Existing technologies are not usually capable of reaching the new levels of cleanliness demanded. This investigation focuses on the characterization of permeate flux using newly developed ceramic microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes for efficient treatment of oilfield produced water. Results for average flux rates and flux degradation are shown

Investigations on the Use of Different Ceramic Membranes For Efficient Oil-Field Produced Water Treatment

Efficient performance of the combination of treatment processes for oilfield produced water generated from oil tank dewatering was investigated in the study presented below. By-produced wastewater is generated in significant quantity during exploitation of crude oil and gas from onshore and offshore production operations. This wastewater, commonly referred to as “produced water”, has distinctive characteristics, due to their organic and inorganic compounds. However, these characteristics change from well to well. The treatment process investigated here consists of a pre-treatment step utilizing microfiltration (0.1 and 0.2µm pore size filters) and/or a simulated batch dissolved air flotation (DAF), and a multistage post-treatment step utilizing cross-flow ultra- (0.05µm pore size and 20kDa molecular weight cut-off filters), and nanofiltration (1 and 0.75kDa MWCO filters). Filters used were ceramic membranes. To determine the separation capability of the processes described, various parameters, such as trans-membrane pressure varying from 0.5 to 2 bar, cross-flow velocity in the range of 0.6 to 1.3m/s, influent oil concentration ranging from 32 to 5420 parts per million (ppm) and different membrane cleaning methods used were investigated. The average permeate flux varied from 3.4 to 3300 l/h*m²*bar, total oil removal was up to 99.5% and total organic carbon removal reached 49%

A Novel Ceramic Membrane Reactor System For the Continuous Enzymatic Synthesis of Oligosaccharides

The continuous enzymatic production of galactosyl-oligosaccharides (GOS) from lactose as a substrate using a new type of ceramic membrane reactor system was investigated. GOS are non-digestible oligosaccharides and have recently attracted interest as prebiotics. However, the composition of oligosaccharides fraction and the variability in ß-glycosidic linkages depends on the enzyme source. In the study presented below, native, physically immobilized, ß-galactosidase from Klyveromyces lactis (EC 3.2.1.23) was used as enzyme to catalyse transgalactosylation reaction to produce GOS, competed against the hydrolysis of lactose into its two component monosaccharides, glucose and galactose. To optimize GOS yielded, process conditions were varied: The average residence time of the enzyme was varied in the range of 13 to 24 min, the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) was in the range of 1 to 2 bar and the initial concentration of substrate was varied from 10 to 30 % (w/w). Regarding the conditions investigated here, the maximum oligosaccharide concentration exceeded 38% (w/w) when the average residence time was 24 min, the TMP was 2 bar and an initial lactose concentration of 30% (w/w) was adjusted