Effect of Ultrasonic Irradiation on Permeability of Dialysis Membrane

Abstract

The application of ultrasound for accelerating the diffusion of electrolytes through a membrane has been attempted. However, the effect of ultrasound on membrane permeability was not clarified in previous studies. we report the relationship between the time of ultrasound irradiation to membrane and permeability of the membrane, and the relationship between sound pressure and the membrane lifetime. Experiments were conducted using a cellophane membrane which had been irradiated for a certain time by ultrasound of different sound pressures at a frequency of 27.5 kHz, and the permeability of the membrane was examined with 1 wt% NaCl solution at 25° C. It was found that the membrane permeability increases with irradiation time. Furthermore, the lifetime of membrane decreases with increasing sound pressure. The degradation of the permeability by ultrasound is due to ultrasonic cavitation.