Separation of non-sucrose compounds from sugar-beet syrup by ultrafiltration with ceramic membrane containing static mixer

The aim of this work was to investigate possible improvement of non-sucrose compounds separation from the syrup of raw brown sugar by application of a static mixer in an ultrafiltration process. The static mixer was expected to reduce the concentration polarization and fouling of the membrane. Non-affinated B sugar from the second stage of crystallization, diluted to 60°Bx dry matter, was used for preparing the solution subjected to the ultrafiltration. The cross-flow filtration, at a laboratory level, was carried out on the tubular ceramic membrane (Schumasiv Pall, USA), with a pore diameter of 5 nm. The separation was performed under various working conditions, with and without the presence of static mixer. The effect of turbulence promotion on filtration performances was investigated by using Kenics static mixer (FMX8124-AC, Omega). The process efficiency was quantified through the achieved values of the permeate flux, its colour and dry matter content, while the working factors were: fluid flow-rate, temperature, transmembrane pressure (TMP) and process duration. The positive effects of mixer application were proved.