Effect of Geometrical and Chemical Constraints on Water Flux across Artificial Membranes

Studies have been made on the temperature dependence of both the hydraulic conductivity, L_p, and the THO diffusion coefficient, ω, for a series of cellulose acetate membranes (CA) of varying porosity. A similar study was also made of a much less polar cellulose triacetate membrane (CTA). The apparent activation energies, E_a, for diffusion across CA membranes vary with porosity, being 7.8 kcal/mole for the nonporous membrane and 5.5 kcal/mole for the most porous one. E_a for diffusion across the less polar CTA membrane is smaller than E_a for the CA membrane of equivalent porosity. Classical viscous flow, in which the hydraulic conductivity is inversely related to bulk water viscosity, has been demonstrated across membranes with very small equivalent pores. Water-membrane interactions, which depend upon both chemical and geometrical factors are of particular importance in diffusion. The implication of these findings for the interpretation of water permeability experiments across biological membranes is discussed.