Cephalosporin C(CPC)fermentation broth is a typical material with high solid content and high viscosity.Under the condition of constant yield of CPC in filtrate

how to minimize the process time of membrane filtration is an interesting area in industrial applications.Based on the stagnant film theory and mass balance

the estimate equation is founded and the conditions to reach the minimum process time tmin are put forward.The results show that the time consumed is 30%—40% of the total process time when the yield of CPC is from 85% to 95%.Under the experiment conditions(pre-concentration ratio 0.5—0.8

post-concentration ratio 1)

the total filtration time is nearly the same.Based on the theoretical and experimental results

the production requirements as CPC yield

the volume of filtrate or retentate and the process effectiveness can be optimized and controlled properly.