Preparation and characterization of titanium oxide‐densified cellulose beads for expanded bed adsorption

Expanded bed adsorption (EBA) has been widely used in industrial downstream bioprocessing. Solid matrix is the principal pillar supporting the successful application of the EBA. A new type of TiO 2 ‐densified cellulose beads as matrix for EBA is exploited through the method of water‐in‐oil suspension thermal regeneration. The typical physical properties of beads are wet density 1.21 g/cm 3 , specific surface area 38.7 m 2 /mL, porosity 83.7%, and water content 69.5%. The results indicate that the custom‐assembled matrix can be derivated to function as an anion exchanger for EBA, by possessing a significant mechanical strength, stable hydrodynamics, and comparable protein breakthrough capacities with the commercial Streamline diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) adsorbent. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2848–2854, 2003