SBIR Phase I: High-capacity reusable filter technologies for large scale perfusion applications

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will drive advancements in tubular membrane filter design, effectively tackling the critical bottleneck associated with capacity limitations. By doing so, it will contribute to reducing operational costs and minimizing plastic waste associated with polymer filters used in bioproduction, particularly in cell separations. This SBIR Phase I project aims to validate an innovative filter flow channel design, enhancing resource efficiency, expediting cleaning and regeneration processes, and significantly boosting filtration system capacities by one or two orders of magnitude. Tubular membranes with rigid walls, such as ceramic membranes, offer higher flux rates and proven reusability but require high recirculation pump rates in tangential flow filtration systems, leading to bulkiness and substantial consumption of cleaning reagents. Through a combination of mathematical modeling and lab testing, the project will develop and validate innovative flow channel designs for tubular membrane filters. Upon completion, the project aims to reduce the cross-flow rate of tubular membrane filters, improve transmembrane pressure across all membrane surfaces, and mitigate membrane fouling while enhancing flux rates. These advancements in flow channel design are expected to extend processing time and capacity between regenerations, thus optimizing system performance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.