Chicory juice clarification by membrane filtration using rotating disk module

Clarification is the first step of inulin production from chicory juice, and membrane filtration as an alternative can greatly simplify this process, increase juice yield, improve product quality, and reduce the cost and waste volume. In this study, a rotating disk module (RDM) was used to investigate the clarification of chicory juice by four micro- and ultrafiltration membranes. Compared with dead end filtration, the RDM had a much higher permeate flux and product quality. High rotating speeds produced high permeate fluxes and reduced flux decline, because of the strong back transport of foulant from fouling layer to feed solution. At high rotating speeds of 1500–2000 rpm, the permeate flux increased with membrane pore size and transmembrane pressure (TMP), while at low rotating speeds (<1000 rpm), permeate flux was independent of membrane type and TMP due to a thick deposited fouling layer as a dominant filtration resistance, while carbohydrate transmission decreased at higher TMP because of denser cake layer as an additional selective membrane. The highest carbohydrate transmission (∼98%) and desirable permeate turbidity (2.4 NTU) was obtained at a TMP of 75 kPa and a rotating speed of 2000 rpm for FSM0.45PP membrane. With the RDM, the Volume Reduction Ratio (VRR) could reach 10 with a high permeate flux (106 L m⁻² h⁻¹) in the concentration test, and permeate was still rich in carbohydrate and well clarified. Chemical cleaning with 0.5% P3-ultrasil 10 detergent solution was able to recover 90% water flux of fouled membrane.     

Effect of membrane property and operating conditions on phytochemical properties and permeate flux during clarification of pineapple juice

The effects of membrane property on the permeate flux, membrane fouling and quality of clarified pineapple juice were studied. Both microfiltration (membrane pore size of 0.1 and 0.2 μm) and ultrafiltration (membrane molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 30 and 100 kDa) membranes were employed. Membrane filtration did not have significant effects on the pH, reducing sugar and acidity of clarified juice whereas the suspended solids and microorganism were completely removed. The 0.2 μm membrane gave the highest permeate flux, total vitamin C content, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity as well as the highest value of irreversible fouling. Based on these results, the membrane with pore size of 0.2 μm was considered to be the most suitable membrane for the clarification of pineapple juice. The optimum operating conditions for the clarification pineapple juice by membrane filtration was a cross-flow velocity of 3.4 ms⁻¹ and transmembrane pressure (TMP) of 0.7 bar. An average flux of about 37 lm⁻² h⁻¹ was obtained during the microfiltration of pineapple juice under the optimum conditions using batch concentration mode.     

Clarification of Apple Juice by Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration: Fluxes and Retention of Odor-Active Volatiles

Fresh apple juice was clarified in a pilot scale ultrafiltration (UF) unit, with membranes made of polysulfone and polyamide and plate and frame and vacuum drum filters. Flux of apple juice (L/m² hr) vs UF transmembrane pressure data showed an optimum at a pressure of about 140 kPa. Retention of odor-active volatiles was highest in plate and frame filtered apple juice and lowest in vacuum drum filtered juice; the retention of odor-active volatiles in UF juice was intermediate to the two traditional filtration methods. Retention of odor-active volatiles in the permeate of a polyamide membrane was higher than that of a polysulfone membrane.     

Effects of pretreatment and various operating parameters on permeate flux and quality during ultrafiltration of apple juice

The central composite design with a quadratic model was used to investigate the effect of temperature (20–40 °C) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) (100–300 kPa) as well as pretreatment with gelatin and bentonite (0:0–300:1500 mg L^?1) on permeate flux and fouling resistance during ultrafiltration of apple juice. The changes in some physicochemical properties were also investigated. Pretreatment of apple juice with gelatin and bentonite and an increase in the temperature and TMP significantly improved the permeate flux. In general, physicochemical properties of apple juice other than polyphenolics were not affected by the applied parameters. Using 150 mg L^?1 of gelatin and 750 mg L^?1 of bentonite for fining significantly reduced the total phenolic content and so did the fouling resistance. Fouling resistance also decreased with increasing temperature, and increasing pressure increased the fouling resistance.     

Analysis of the fouling mechanisms during cross-flow ultrafiltration of apple juice

The purpose of this work was to study the fouling mechanisms of a Carbosep^® M8 membrane during the cross-flow ultrafiltration of apple juice. A new fouling model has been developed that simultaneously considers membrane blocking within the pores, at the pore mouths and by cake formation at the membrane surface. Membrane fouling by apple juice was due to internal pore blocking as well as cake formation. When operating ultrafiltration at a transmembrane pressure of 150 kPa and a cross-flow velocity of 7 m/s, fouling was minimal with a gradual decrease of the relative contribution of cake formation; however, transmembrane pressure still exceeds critical pressure. The fouling model predicts no cake formation at a cross-flow velocity of 7.4 m/s and a transmembrane pressure of 150 kPa or at a cross-flow velocity of 7.0 m/s and a transmembrane pressure of 120 kPa. Under these conditions, internal membrane blocking would be the only mechanism responsible for the decrease of permeate flux.     

Impact of ultrafiltration/diafiltration sequence on the production of soy protein isolate by membrane technologies

In previous studies, the advantages of combining electrodialysis using a bipolar-cationic membranes configuration to acidify a soy protein extract to pH 6 with ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a 100 kDa membrane to produce a soy protein isolate with low phytic acid content and improved solubility between pH 2 and 4 was demonstrated, when compared to the production of soy protein isolates by isoelectric precipitation and by UF/DF of a soy protein extract at pH 9. However, limited work was done to establish the impact of the UF/DF sequence for the purification of the pH 6 extract. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to study the impact of four different UF/DF sequences with a total permeate volume of 1.5–1.6 times the initial volume, on membrane fouling and permeate flux, as well as on the isolate protein, ash and phytic acid contents and solubility profile. Of the investigated UF/DF sequences, the VCR 5, VD 4 sequence was shown to be the one with the most severe fouling and consequently the most severe permeate flux decline. At the same time, it was also the VCR 5, VD 4 sequence which was the most efficient in terms of ash and phytic acid removal, followed by the VCR 5, re-VCR5 sequence, the VCR 2, VD 2 sequence and the VCR 2, (re-VCR 2)X 2 sequence, respectively. It was also observed that isolate with low phytic acid content resulted in narrower protein solubility profiles around the isoelectric point and higher protein solubility for the pH range of 2 to 4.Industrial relevancePlant proteins have made up a higher proportion of the human diet in recent years. Soybeans are the most important source of plant protein ingredients accounting for some 68% of global plant protein consumption in the world. Soy protein isolate is traditionally prepared by isoelectric precipitation process. This process has high productivity, however, it results in products with poor functional properties due to protein denaturation and to the presence of phytic acid (1–3% w/w) which alters the solubility of the isolates especially for the pH below the proteins' isoelectric point. In this work, we combined electrodialysis using a bipolar-cationic membranes configuration to acidify a soy protein extract to pH 6 with ultrafiltration/diafiltration (UF/DF) using a 100 kDa membrane to produce soy protein isolates with low phytic acid content. The impact of four different UF/DF sequences on membrane fouling, permeate flux, isolate composition and solubility profile was studied. Of the investigated UF/DF sequences, the VCR 5, VD 4 sequence was shown to be the one with the most severe fouling but at the same time the most efficient in terms of ash and phytic acid removal. It was also observed that the isolate produced by the VCR 5, VD 4 sequence shows narrower protein solubility profiles around the isoelectric point and higher protein solubility for the pH range of 2 to 4 than isolates produced by alternative UF/DF sequences. This isolate could be considered as a valuable ingredient for the formulation of fruit juice beverages or power juices, considering that the pH of these liquid food products is around 3.5.     

Flavor Losses in Orange Juice during Ultrafiltration and Subsequent Evaporation

Losses of volatile compounds in orange juice during ultrafiltration and subsequent evaporation were studied. Alcohols and esters predominated in the permeate, while terpenes (d-limonene and valencene) and nonpolar aldehydes (octanal and decanal) were distributed in the retentate from the ultrafiltration (UF) system. Fractions of some flavor compounds were lost during ultrafiltration process. An aqueous phase essence was recovered from the permeate during evaporative concentration. No oil phase was observed. When whole juice was concentrated, both oil and aqueous phases were recovered. Essence recovery efficiency of individual compounds was 3 to 13% when concentrating permeate and <5% when concentrating whole juice.     

超滤法澄清西番莲果汁的研究

以寻求提高西番莲原汁超滤时的渗透通量为目的，用国产芳香聚酰胺膜平板超滤器进行试验，对超滤操作条件，果汁预处理，膜的清洗进行研究。结果表明，西番莲原汁超滤时渗透通量最高的操作压力为0．15MPa，最佳进料速度为22mL/s，操作温度为室温；原汁经海藻酸钠—碳酸钠澄清剂预处理后可以明显增大渗透通量；超滤处理后。原汁的西番莲固有滋味和品质得到较好保留。采用超滤澄清法生产高质量的西番莲原汁是可行的。     

超滤在荔枝汁澄清中的应用

首次采用聚砜中空纤维膜对荔枝汁进行超滤澄清处理 ,超滤后果汁澄清透明 ,透光率达 99.5% ,无混浊现象 ,较好地保持了原汁的营养成分与风味 ,试验还探讨了超滤工艺参数对膜透过速率的影响     

Clarification of apple juice by electroflotation

Apple Juice industry is in search of a simplified technology which enables a quick clarification and stabilisation of apple juice. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of electroflotation as an alternative for the clarification of apple juice. Clarification of apple juice by electroflotation was first done at various current densities (10, 20 and 40 mA/cm²) with and without addition of gelatin (200 mg/l). Afterwards, the electroflotation treatments were done at a current density of 20 mA/cm² with various concentrations of added gelatin (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l). It was shown that electroflotation treatments alone was efficient to reduce the tannin and protein contents of apple juice. However, the decrease in the protein content was in large part due to the use of pectinases prior to the electroflotation treatments. The use of gelatin in combination with the electroflotation aided in the clarification process. The highest gelatin concentration used in this study (200 mg/l) resulted in a better reduction of tannin and protein levels, while a current density of 20 mA/cm² was found to be optimal. Turbidity observed in the juices clarified with electroflotation treatments was in average lower than 10 NTU but higher than 2 NTU which is generally required to produce a stable clarified juice. Brix degree and pH of the apple juice was not affected by the electroflotation treatments while the color was improved.

Industrial relevance

The production of clarified and stable apple juice is a subject of interest for the beverages industries. The clarification step which remained long and discontinuous implied the addition of a large quantity of pectolytic enzyme and of clarifying agents (such as gelatin) to the freshly pressed juice to induce the precipitation of proteins and other suspended matter in 15–20 h. Fining treatments were followed by a separation step usually consisting of decantation and classical filtration on filter-press, or flotation by dispersed gas. The development of membrane separation processes to replace the traditional approach has enabled the automation of the whole production resulting in lower labor requirement and a considerably shorter process time than the traditional process.However, the performance of membrane separation processes is influenced by the declining permeate flux with time, which is due to membrane fouling. In some instances, permeate flux decline makes membrane separation processes unattractive for the clarification of apple juice. To our knowledge, we are the first research group to use electroflotation (EF) for clarification of apple juice. It was shown that EF treatments alone were efficient to reduce the tannin and protein contents of apple juice. In addition, the use of gelatin in combination with the EF aided in the clarification process. Turbidity observed in the juices clarified with EF treatments for 30 min was in average lower than 10 NTU. Brix degree and pH of the apple juice were not affected by the EF treatments while the color was improved.When compared to the values reported in the literature for flotation by dispersed gas, it seems that EF shows better efficiency than flotation in decreasing the juice turbidity (99% decrease for EF as compared to 90% decrease for flotation). In addition, for experiments carried out by conventional flotation larger amount of fining agent are used (70–150 mg of gelatin/l, 400–800 mg/l of silica sol and 200–500 mg/l of bentonite). For these reasons, the new process we propose is advantageous when compared to the traditional flotation approach and it should have a measurable impact on the advancements in the production of clarified apple juice. If used as a pre-treatment to ultrafiltration clarification, it is expected that it would reduce membrane fouling resulting in higher productivity.     

用中空纤维超滤膜法澄清橙汁

对中空纤维超滤膜法澄清橙汁(Citrus sinensis)进行了研究。试验着重研究了操作压力、温度、物料浓度和进料流速对膜透过速率的影响,并测定了超滤(?)中的营养成分的保存率。还探讨了超滤作为膜蒸馏浓缩预处理的可能性。结果表明,超滤法澄清橙汁是可行的．对果汁营养成分及风味无显著影响。由于超滤除去了果胶等固形物,因此能提高膜蒸馏过程的蒸馏通量。     

A new integrated membrane process for the production of concentrated blood orange juice: Effect on bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity

The production of high quality concentrated blood orange juice according to a new integrated membrane process, alternative to thermal evaporation, was evaluated in terms of preservation of the total antioxidant activity and of the bioactive antioxidant components of the juice (ascorbic acid, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavanones). The process was based on the initial clarification of freshly squeezed juice by ultrafiltration (UF); the clarified juice was successively concentrated by two consecutive processes: first reverse osmosis (RO), used as a pre-concentration technique (up to 25–30 °Bx), then osmotic distillation (OD), up to a final concentration of about 60 °Bx. During the concentration process of the liquid fractions, a slight decrease of total antioxidant activity (TAA) was observed (−15%), which was due to the partial degradation of ascorbic acid (ca. −15%) and anthocyanins (ca. −20%). Nevertheless, this degradation was lower than that observed with thermally concentrated juice: TAA, −26%; ascorbic acid, −30%, anthocyanins, −36%. The possibility to operate at room temperature allowed reduction in thermal damage and energy consumption. On the basis of these results, the integrated membrane process may be proposed as a valuable alternative to obtain high quality concentrated juice, as the final product still showed a very high antioxidant activity and a very high amount of natural bioactive components, showing a brilliant red colour and a pleasant aroma, characteristics that were significantly lost during traditional thermal evaporation.     

Ultrafiltration for recovery of rice protein: Fouling analysis and technical assessment

This research focused on the rice protein recovery from rice starch production wastewater by ultrafiltration. The effect of operating pressure was performed at different feed pressure from 2 to 10 bar. The suitable condition was chosen based on permeate flux; retention of protein, carbohydrate, reducing sugar, total dissolved solids (TDS); and purity of protein. The operating pressure of 6 and 8 bar was selected to conduct the study of batch operation mode with recycling of retentate. The permeate flux was highest at 6 bar, while the recovery yield and purity of protein reached a peak at 8 bar.Hermia's models were applied to analyze the fouling mechanisms in ultrafiltration (UF) of rice protein. Cake layer formation and intermediate blocking were found to occur during the UF depending on the operating pressure. The model developed in fouling analysis was used to estimate the change in component content in rice protein refinery. As result, the excellent agreement between the experimental and the model-simulated values for the solute concentrations in feed at various times of the UF operation was observed. Results indicate that UF is a potential technique for recovering rice protein.     

Influence of flocculation and adsorption as pretreatment on the fouling of ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes: application with biologically treated sewage effluent

Membrane fouling is a critical limitation on the application of membranes to wastewater reuse. This work aims to understand the fouling phenomenon which occurs in ultrafiltration (UF; 17500 molecular weight cutoff (MWCO)) and nanofiltration (NF; 250 MWCO) membranes, with and without pretreatment. For this purpose, the molecular weight (MW) distribution of the organics has been used as a parameter to characterize the influent, the permeate, and the foulant on the membrane surface. The variation of foulant concentration on the membrane due to pretreatment of the influent by flocculation and/or adsorption was investigated in detail. With the UF membrane, the peak of the MW distribution of organics in the permeate depended on the pretreatment; for example, the weight-averaged MW (Mw) of 675 without pretreatment shifted down to 314 with pretreatment. In the case of the NF membrane, the Mw of organics in the permeate was 478 (without pretreatment) and 310 (with flocculation followed by adsorption). The Mw of the organics in the foulant on the membrane surface was 513 (UF) and 192 (NF) without pretreatment and 351 (UF) and 183 (NF) after pretreatment with flocculation followed by adsorption, respectively. Without the pretreatment, the foulant concentration was higher on both membranes. The difference was more significant on the UF membrane than on the NF membrane. For both membranes, the flocculation-and-then-adsorption pretreatment proved very effective.     

Deacidification of passion fruit juice by ultrafiltration and ion-exchange processes

Deacidification of passion fruit juice by a combination of ultrafiltration (UF) and ion-exchange was studied. Prefiltering the juice by UF facilitated the ion-exchange process. At a feed rate of 700 ml h⁻¹, weakly basic resins removed nearly 95, 80 and 50% titrat-able acids from five, seven and twelve bed volumes of UF permeate, respectively, and did not cause significant sugar losses. UF retentate can be added back to the deacidified UF permeate to restore the suspended solids and some flavour components.     

Physiochemical, antioxidant and whitening properties of extract from root cortices of mulberry as affected by membrane process

Extract from root cortices of mulberry (Morus alba, L.) was separated into permeate and retentate fractions using a membrane system equipped with either a microfiltration membrane or one of four molecular weight cut-off ultrafiltration membranes. The effects of membrane process at volume concentration ratio (VCR)=4 on the physiochemical characteristics, the contents of active compounds, antioxidant ability, and whitening capability (tyrosinase inhibitory activity) in permeate and retentate were evaluated. The clarification degree, antioxidant effects, and whitening capability of the permeates increased as compared to those of feed. In addition, permeate treated with a 0.45 μm microfiltration membrane exhibited less fouling layer and specific resistance (αpC_B=622.8 m⁻²×10⁻⁶) and thus had a higher permeate flux than treated with other ultrafiltration membranes (αpC_B=786.1-1025.3 m⁻²×10⁻⁶). A higher content of active compounds, such as chlorogenoic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid may explain higher antioxidant and whitening capabilities in permeate of extracts from root cortices of mulberry.     

Ultrafiltration/Reverse Osmosis Concentration of Lobster Extract

A membrane concentration system consisting of tubular polysulphone ultrafiltration (UF) and polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) was evaluated for concentrating key water soluble flavor compounds from lobster extracts. Major flavor-giving compounds in the extract were glutamic acid, glycine, arginine, uridine 5′-monophosphate (UMP), succninic acid and glucose. Factors affecting performance of the UF/RO systems, such as flow rate, feed solid level, temperature and pressure, on permeate flux and solids rejection were measured. The optimum UF conditions were 1.5% feed solid level, 15 L/min feed flow rate, 50°C feed temperature and 1 MPa log mean transmembrane pressure. The RO system retained all dissolved flavor components and its ideal operating conditions were 40°C, 2.8 MPa log mean transmembrane pressure and a flow rate of 15 L/min.     

Effects of palm oil-based fatty acids on fouling of ultrafiltration membranes during the clarification of glycerin-rich solution

Ultrafiltration (UF) is an alternative option that can be used to clarify glycerin-rich solutions in the oleochemical industry. However, the UF membranes used in the process were observed to have been seriously fouled in our preliminary study. Thus, the ultrafiltration of a glycerol-water-fatty acid mixture was carried out to investigate the membrane binding properties of the components and their contributions to membrane fouling. Palmitic, stearic, and oleic acid were used as fouling substances in the glycerol-water mixture. The flux decline experiments were carried out using polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) as well as polyethersulphone (PES) membranes with a MWCO of 30 and 25 kDa, respectively at specific conditions (T = 40 °C; ΔP = 2 bar). It was found that the PES membrane exhibited severe fouling for all types of fatty acids in solution with glycerol-water. As the pH decreased to acidic conditions, the PES membrane tended to exhibit more severe fouling than the PVDF membrane.     

Concentration of Skim Milk by a Cascade Comprised of Ultrafiltration and Nanofiltration: Investigation of the Nanofiltration of Skim Milk Ultrafiltration Permeate

In order to reach a high volume reduction ratio (VRR) prior to drying of skim milk, a membrane cascade comprising of an ultrafiltration (UF) coupled with a nanofiltration (NF) can be applied. The present study investigated the impact of processing (filtration temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP)) and product (feed pH) parameters on the NF of skim milk UF permeate. It could be shown that a low filtration temperature of 10 °C is more advantageous in terms of flux stability and rejection of the solute fraction as compared to higher filtration temperatures up to 45 °C. The solution pH did not affect permeate flux and lactose retention. However, in order to avoid calcium losses, it is more favorable to conduct the concentration at a pH of 6.8 instead of at a lower pH of 5. The application of a higher TMP (up to 4 MPa) enhances permeate flux and VRR as well as solute rejection during concentration of UF permeate. It was also shown that the retention of solutes decreases towards the end of the concentration process. As a consequence, the achievement of high final VRR must be weighed against increased product losses at the end.     

STUDIES ON THE CLARIFICATION AND CONCENTRATION OF BEETROOT JUICE

Studies on the clarification and subsequent concentration of beetroot juice were carried out. The juice was clarified using enzyme, fining agent (FA), centrifugation and ultrafiltration (UF), while reverse osmosis (RO) and thermovacuum evaporation were used for concentration. The juices were concentrated to 23–25°Brix, and the physicochemical characteristics were evaluated at different stages of processing on the basis of clarity, permeate flux, °Brix, acidity, sugars, pigments and CIE L*, a* and b* (lightness, redness and yellowness, respectively) color values. Average permeate flux during RO was found to be highest (36.08 liters per square meter of membrane per hour [L/m²h]) in the case of enzyme treatment, followed by UF juice, and lowest (30.33 L/m ² h) in the case of enzyme and FA treatments. In terms of clarity of concentrate, the highest value was obtained for juices pretreated with enzyme and UF. Pigment content and L*, a* and b* values showed that pigment loss was higher in the case of RO‐concentrated juice pretreated with enzyme. Comparative evaluation in terms of clarity, color and chemical parameters showed that concentrates obtained using both techniques were comparable.