Electrical Factors Influencing the Rate of Filtration of Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions through Cellophane Membranes

The mechanisms by which electrokinetic factors might influence the filtration rate of aqueous electrolyte solutions through membranes are discussed. The filtration rate of a thorium chloride solution in which the membrane is isoelectric is compared with those of other solutions. The maximum filtration rate is found at the isoelectric concentration, the rate falling as the electrokinetic potential increases. The results demonstrate an inverse relation between the electrokinetic potential and the filtration rate but do not permit the evaluation with any great exactitude of the respective rôles played by the two proposed mechanisms, namely, a stream potential-electroosmotic back-transport and a variation in effective pore diameter due to an orientation of water dipoles determined by electrical factors. Evidence is presented that Lepeschkin's membrane resistance is an artifact.