κ-Carrageenan-Fe2O3 superporous composite adsorbent beads for application in magnetic field expanded bed chromatography adsorption

One of the authentic separation methods to purification of bioproducts is expanded bed adsorption (EBA). The magnetic field expanded bed adsorption (MFEBA) can be used to improve the efficiency of the EBA process. New type adsorbent beads composed as κ-Carrageenan-Fe2O3 (KC-Fe2O3) and superporous κ-Carrageenan- Fe2O3 (SP-KC-Fe2O3) have been prepared and well-studied by w/o emulsification method followed by morphological, physical and hydrodynamic investigations. The optical microscopy (OM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were applied to the morphology study of the adsorbent particles. A suitable spherical morphology and porosity have been detected for the fabricated composite beads. A suitable wet density between 1.278 and 1.895 g/mL has been detected for the composite adsorbent. The beads porosity and egg (EA) albumin effective porosity were measured for SP-KC-Fe2O3-3 with the values of about 97.83% and 75.62% respectively. In order to study the hydrodynamic behavior of KC-Fe2O3 and SP-KC-Fe2O3 composite adsorbents in expanded bed adsorption process, the residence time distribution (RTD) measurements were carried out. The results indicated that suitable physical and hydrodynamic properties of the fabricated matrices in proof the potential of their application in high flow rate magnetic field expanded bed adsorption. •The magnetic superporous κ-Carrageenan- Fe2O3 composite beads were fabricated.•A proper magnetization was induced to beads to use in magnetic field EBA column.•The spherical beads with size distribution ranged 50–310 μm have been detected.•The egg albumin effective porosity was measured about 97.83% at the maximum point.•SP-KC-Fe2O3-3 has shown the optimum performance among the superporous samples.