GRAVITY SETTLING OF APS - CHARACTERISTICS AND PROCESS APPLICATIONS

Aqueous two-phase systems (APS) have been described as useful for the extractive purification of enzymes in large scale [1] and also for applications in bioconversion processes [2]. Albertsson [3] has described these systems and their use in biochemical research basically. At large-scale processing phase separation is conducted either by using common centrifugal separators or by settling under unit gravity. This paper analyses the settling behaviour of model systems with regard to their physicochemical properties; further the application of settling in extractive enzyme recovery processes is considered.