Separation Science and Technology, Vol.34, No.2, 277-288, 1999
Separation of ethyl ester of docosahexaenoic acid by facilitated transport membrane with high stability
The selective transport of the ethyl ester of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA-Et) was studied in the facilitated transport system where feed phase, membrane phase, and receiving phase had the same ethanoi diluent. The carrier of DHA-Et was Ag+, and a Nafion membrane was used as the support so that Ag was immobilized in the support by electrostatic force. DHA-Et was sufficiently transported in this system due to the swelling of Nation by ethanol, while the methyl eater of linoleic acid was hardly transported in a Nafion membrane containing aqueous Ag+ solution (membrane solution). DHA-Et, which has six carbon-carbon double bonds, was transported fairly faster than the ethyl ester of oleic acid which has one double bond with a selectivity of about 10. This indicated that our membrane is useful for separating esters of polyunsaturated fatty acids based on the difference in the double-bond numbers. The effects of the water content in the ethanol solution used as diluent and the feed phase DHA-Et concentration on membrane performances were investigated. This type of facilitated transport membrane was stable for more than 200 days. This is because in addition to the immobilization of Ag+ in the support membrane by the electrostatic force, the membrane phase had the same diluent as the feed and receiving phases so that leakage of the membrane solvent did not occur.
Keywords:SILVER-NITRATE;EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID;EXCHANGE MEMBRANES;LIQUID MEMBRANES;UPHILL TRANSPORT;METHYL-ESTERS;FATTY-ACIDS;CO2;CARRIER