A

Seminar Report

“Processing And Preservation By Membrane

Technology “
Submitted
To
The
Department Of Chemical Technology, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University,
Amravati-444602, Maharashtra, India.

By
Miss. Shivani Girish Munishwar
(B.Tech, 4th Year, Food Technology)
Under The Guidance Of
Dr. P. A. Pawar
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE 0F
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY (FOOD TECH)
SESSION 2020-2021
UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY,

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 SANT GADGE BABA AMRAVATI UNIVERSITY, AMRAVATI- 444602

“CERTIFICATE”

This Is To Certify That The Project Entitled “Milk Product : Ice Cream ” Submitted
In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Bachelor Of
Technology (Chemical Technology) With Specialization In Food Technology Of The
College Of Under Graduate Studies, Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University,
Amravati, Is A Record Of Bona-Fide Project Report Carried Out By Miss. Shivani G
Munishwar Under Our Supervision During The Academic Year 2021-2022.

The Assistance And Help Received During The Course Of This Investigation Have
Been Duly Acknowledged.

Dr. P.A. Pawar

(Associate Professor)

Date: Dr. A.B. Naik

Place: Amravati (Professor And H.O.D)

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 “ACKNOWLEDGEMENT”
We dream, we desire and strive to achieve our dreams; and finally it is God’s grace and our
perseverance that pays and then we achieve what we dream. First of all I bow my head towards
the almighty God who has guided me all the way and for the many blessings that has been
bestowed upon me.
With my innate feeling and thoughts, I would like to elucidate my deep sense of reverence to
Dr. P. A. Pawar, Associate Professor of Food Technology whose scholastic guidance, constant
encouragement, diligence, persistent endeavor, soothing parental affection throughout the
period of course work and for their day to day help during the investigation by providing all
initials, all have shaped me in such a way that I was able to construct this manuscript smoothly.
I feel extremely privileged to express my veneration for the eminent members of my
department, Dr. A. B. Naik, Professor and H.O.D of Chemical Technology Department, for their
authentic guidance, keen interest and valuable criticism during the course of investigation.
Emotions cannot be verbalized. I lack words to express my love, heart full reverence and deep
sense of gratitude to my parents for their unbounded love, unfailing prayers, blessings,
inspirations, great sacrifices, incessant encouragement and unbarred assistance of kinds, made
me to achieve the most counted and cherished goal of higher education. Words would never be
able to fathom the depth of feelings for my brothers, my sisters and all my relatives for their
constant love, unending prayer and memory that instills in me a spirit of homeliness Wherever I
was. Their everlasting care, blessings, moral support and constant encouragement shaped my
career and brought me up to this stage.
I thank all those whose names could not find a separate place but have helped me directly or
indirectly in the present investigation.

Amravati

Shivani G munishwar

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B.Tech IVth year ( FOOD TECHNOLOGY)

Chemical Technology

Index
SR NO TOPIC PG NO

1 MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY 5

2 APPLICATION 9

3 MEMBRANE SEPARATION 42

4 CASE STUDY 52

5 CONCLUSION 71

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MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY
 Membrane processing is a technique that permits concentration and separation
without the use of heat. Particles are separated on the basis of their molecular size
and shape with the use of pressure and specially designed semi-permeable
membranes. There are some fairly new developments in terms of commercial
reality and is gaining readily in its applications:

 proteins can be separated in whey for the production of whey protein

concentrate (WPC)
 milk can be concentrated prior to cheesemaking at the farm level
 apple juice and wine can be clarified
 waste treatment and product recovery is possible in edible oil, fat, potato,
and fish processing
 fermentation broths can be clarified and separated
 whole egg and egg white ultrafiltration as a preconcentration prior to spray
drying

Membrane technology is a proven separation method used on the molecular and

ionic levels. Since the beginning of the 1970s, this technique has been adapted for
the dairy industry.

DEFINITIONS
Definitions of some frequently used expressions:
Feed = the solution to be concentrated or fractionated
Flux = the rate of extraction of permeate measured in litres per square metre of
membrane surface area per hour (l/m2/h)
Membrane fouling = deposition and accumulation of feed components on the
membrane surface and/or within the pores of the membrane; causes an irreversible
flux decline during processing
Permeate = the filtrate, the liquid passing through the membrane
Retentate = the concentrate, the retained liquid
Concentration factor = the volume reduction achieved by concentration, i.e. the
ratio of initial volume of feed to the final volume of concentrate/retentate

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 Diafiltration =  a design to obtain better purification – water is added to the feed
during membrane filtration to wash out the low molecular feed components that
will pass through the membranes, often lactose and minerals

MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY
In the dairy industry, membrane technology is principally associated with

 Reverse Osmosis (RO)

– concentration of solutions by removal of water
 Nanofiltration (NF)
– concentration of organic components by removal of part of monovalent ions like
sodium and chlorine (partial demineralization)
 Ultrafiltration (UF)
– concentration of large and macro molecules, for example proteins
 Microfiltration (MF)
– removal of bacteria, separation of macro molecules
The spectrum of application of membrane separation processes in the dairy
industry is shown in Figure 6.4.1.
All the above techniques feature pressure driven membrane filtration processes in
which the feed solution is forced through the membrane under pressure. The
membranes are categorized by their salt retention (RO and NF) molecular weight
cut-off (NF and UF) or nominal pore size (MF).

The cut-off is supposedly the molecular weight of the molecule that has a 90 %
rejection by the membrane. Because of various interactions, however, a membrane
cannot be selected purely on the basis of its salt retention, molecular weight cut-off
or nominal pore size.
It should be mentioned that traditional or conventional filtration is typically used
for the separation of suspended particles larger than 10 µm, while membrane
filtration separates substances with molecular sizes less than
10 µm. Traditional filtration is performed in a dead-end mode, while membrane
filtration is performed in both dead-end and cross-flow modes.
The basic difference between conventional filtration and cross-flow membrane
filtration is illustrated in Figure 6.4.2.
Several differences can be noted between conventional and membrane filtration.

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 Conventional filters are thick with open structures. Filter material is typically
paper. Gravity is the main force affecting particle separation. Pressure may
be applied only to accelerate the process. The flow of feed is perpendicular to the
filter medium and filtration can be conducted in open systems. 
 Membrane filters are thin and of fairly controlled pore size. Nowadays, the filter
material is commonly polymers and ceramics and more rarely cellulose acetate.
In membrane filtration, the use of a pressure difference across the membrane, a
trans membrane pressure (TMP), is an essential driving force for separation and in
cross-flow or tangential membrane filtration, a flow design is followed. The feed
solution runs parallel to the membrane surface and the permeate flows
perpendicular to the membrane surface. The filtration must be carried out in a
closed system.

Fig. 6.4.1 Spectrum of application of membrane separation processes in the dairy

industry.

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 Zoom
Fig. 6.4.2
Basic differences between conventional dead-end filtration and cross-flow
membrane filtration.

PRINCIPLES OF MEMBRANE SEPARATION

The membrane separation techniques utilized in the dairy industry serve different
purposes:
RO – used for dehydration of milk, whey, UF permeate and condensate
NF – used when partial desalination of milk, whey, UF permeate or retentate is
required
UF – typically used for concentration of milk proteins in milk and whey and for
protein standardization of milk intended for cheese, yoghurt and some other
products, but it is also used for clarification of fruit- and berry-juices
MF – mostly used for reduction of bacteria in skim milk, whey and brine, but also
for defatting whey intended for whey protein concentrate (WPC) and for protein
fractionation

The general flow patterns of the various membrane separation systems are
illustrated in Figure 6.4.3.

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Fig 6.4.3
Principles of membrane filtration.

FILTRATION MODULES
The filtration modules used may be of different configurations.

Design                                                     Typical application

Plate and frame                                                                 UF
Tubular, ceramic                                                        MF, UF
Spiral-wound                                                       RO, NF, UF
PLATE AND FRAME DESIGN
These systems consist of membranes sandwiched between membrane support
plates, which are arranged in stacks, similar to ordinary plate heat exchangers. The
feed material is forced through very narrow channels that may be configured for
parallel flow or as a combination of parallel and serial channels. A typical design is
shown in Figure 6.4.4.
A module is usually divided into sections, and in each of these the flow between
pairs of membranes is in parallel. The sections are separated by a special
membrane support plate in which one hole is closed with a stop disc to reverse the
direction of flow, resulting in serial flow between successive sections. Modules are
available in various sizes. Membrane material: typical polymers.

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 Zoom
Fig. 6.4.4
Example of a plate and frame system (DDS) for UF.

TUBULAR DESIGN – CERAMIC

A tubular concept with ceramic membranes is steadily gaining ground in the dairy
industry, especially in systems for the reduction of bacteria in milk, whey, WPC
and brine.
The filter element (Figure 6.4.5) is a ceramic filter manufactured by Pall Exekia.
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The thin walls of the channels are made of fine-grained ceramic and constitute the
membrane. The support material is coarse-grained ceramic.
In MF for bacteria removal, the system is fed with skim milk, because fat would be
concentrated with whole milk and this is undesirable in applications for bacteria
reduction. Most of the feed (about 95 %) passes through the membrane as
permeate, in this case bacteria-reduced skim milk. The retentate, some 5 % of the
feed, is bacteria-rich skim milk.
The filter elements (1, 7, 12, 19, 37 or 60 in parallel) are installed in a module.
Figure 6.4.6 shows a module with 19 filter elements, one of which is exposed to
the left of the module. For industrial purposes, two modules are put together in
series, forming a filter loop together with one retentate circulation pump and one
permeate circulation pump (Figure 6.4.9).
Depending on the required capacity, a number of filter loops can be installed in
parallel.
The feed is pumped into the modules from below at a high flow rate. The high flow
rate causes a high pressure drop along the membrane elements, which leads to an
uneven TMP as the TMP is higher at the inlet than at the outlet. The very high
TMP at the inlet quickly causes clogging of the membrane. This phenomenon is
illustrated in Figure 6.4.7, which shows conventional cross-flow microfiltration.
Experience shows that a low TMP gives much better performance, but in
conventional cross-flow microfiltration, a low TMP only occurs at the outlet, i.e.
on a very small part of the membrane area.
A unique uniform trans membrane pressure (UTP) system has been introduced to
achieve optimum conditions on the entire area. The patented system, illustrated in
Figure 6.4.8, involves high-velocity permeate circulating concurrently with the
retentate, creating a pressure drop on the permeate side which is equal to the
pressure drop on the retentate side. This gives a uniform TMP over the whole of
the membrane area, and thus optimum utilization of the membrane.
The UTP system is possible because normally the space between the elements
inside the module, i.e. on the permeate side, is empty, but in the UTP version, it is
filled with plastic grains. The pressure drop on the permeate side is regulated by
the permeate pump and is constant during operation of the plant.
Today, specially designed membrane elements are available that have this UTP
system built into their structure. When using this type of membrane, there is no
need for circulation on the permeate side. These membranes have a flow resistance
which differs along the element.

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Fig. 6.4.5
Cross-flow filtration in a multichannel element (19 channels).

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Fig. 6.4.6
The filter elements – 1, 7 or 19 (shown) in parallel – are installed in a stainless
steel module.

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Fig. 6.4.7
Pressure drop during conventional cross-flow microfiltration.

Fig. 6.4.8
Pressure drop at the uniform transmembrane pressure system.

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 Fig. 6.4.9
An industrial membrane filter loop consists of:

 Two filter modules connected in series

 One retentate circulation pump
 One permeate circulation pump
SPIRAL-WOUND DESIGN
As the spiral-wound design differs from the other membrane filtration designs used
in the dairy industry, it calls for a somewhat more detailed explanation.
A spiral-wound element contains one or more membrane envelopes, each of which
contains two layers of membrane separated by a porous permeate conductive
material. This material, called the permeate channel spacer, allows the permeate
passing through the membrane to flow freely. The two layers of membrane with
the permeate channel spacer between them are sealed with adhesive at two edges
and one end to form the membrane envelope. The open end of the envelope is
connected and sealed to a perforated permeate-collecting tube. The envelope

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configuration is illustrated in Figure 6.4.10.
A plastic netting material, serving as a channel for the flow of feed solution
through the system and known as the feed channel spacer, is placed in contact with
one side of each membrane envelope. Due to the netting design, the feed channel
spacers also act as turbulence generators to keep the membrane clean at relatively
low velocities.
The entire assembly is then wrapped around the perforated permeate-collecting
tube to form the spiral-wound membrane. Spiral-wound membranes are equipped
with an anti-telescoping device (ATD) (Figure 6.4.11) between the downstream
ends of the membrane elements to prevent the velocity of treated fluid from
causing the layers to slip.
Several elements – normally up to six – can be connected in series inside the same
stainless steel tube as shown in Figure 6.4.12.
Membrane and permeate spacer material: polymer.

Fig. 6.4.10
Envelope formation of the spiral-wound filter design.

Fig. 6.4.11

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Spiral-wound membrane with the anti-telescoping device.

Fig. 6.4.12
Spiral-wound module assembly. Either or both of the pairs of connecting branches
(X and Y) can be used for stackable housing, specially used in UF concepts.

SEPARATION CHARACTERISTICS FOR MEMBRANES

The separation characteristic of a membrane is determined by many different
factors related to the membrane material, membrane manufacturing, shape and
flexibility of molecules, and the flow dynamic and transport mechanisms at the
membrane surface. For the membrane manufacturers to be able to characterize the
membrane performance, several methods have been developed to determine the
separation characteristics of the specific membrane type.
One example is UF membranes that can have a definite or a diffuse separation
characteristic, as illustrated in Figure 6.4.13 for two UF membranes with the same
molecular weight cut-off. The phenomenon occurs when the pore size distribution
of the membrane is narrow or wide, and if it results in a different rejection curve
slope.
Membranes with a narrow pore size distribution let everything with a definite
lower molecular weight permeate, while membranes with a wide pore size
distribution let some material with a higher molecular weight permeate and reject

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some with a lower molecular weight, although the two membranes are defined as
having the same molecular weight cut-off.

The definition that the molecular weight cut-off determines the separation
characteristic should be taken with some reservations, as the shape of the separated
molecule also has an influence. An ideal hard spherical molecule cannot be
compared to a flexible or shaped molecule.
In addition there is a multi-variant dependency of separation characteristics that
makes applying membrane filtration in the dairy industry very complex, but also
offers the possibility of being unique, because when a system is designed and set
up with all the relevant parameters the membrane is just a single parameter.
Therefore, being able to reliably reproduce a product requires more than just
knowing the membrane cut-off – the total set of parameters has to be known and
under control.

Fig. 6.4.13
Typical rejection characteristics of two ultrafiltration membranes with the same
molecular weight cut-off (10kD), showing ideal, sharp and diffuse separation
characteristics.

MATERIAL TRANSPORT THROUGH THE MEMBRANE

Separation capacity depends on a number of factors:

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 Membrane resistance, which is characteristic for each membrane and is determined
by
– the thickness of the membrane
– the surface porosity
– the pore diameter.
 Transport resistance, i.e. the concentration polarization and fouling effects are
phenomena that occur at the surface or in the porous structure of the membranes as
filtration proceeds.
The formation of a layer that increases resistance can be explained as follows:

 Large molecules (i.e. protein and fat) are transported by convection to the
membrane at right angles to the direction of flow. Due to the retention, the
concentration of particles will increase at the membrane surface.
 This concentration gradient produces a back diffusion in the opposite direction,
back to the bulk.
 Parallel to the membrane, the proteins present in the layer close to the membrane
surface move at velocities that vary according to the increase in axial flow rate.
 The fouling effect is not uniformly distributed along the membrane, especially
when the pressure drop gives different TMPs along the membrane surface. The
upstream end of the membrane thus clogs first and the fouling gradually spreads
over the whole surface, reducing capacity and eventually making it necessary to
stop and clean the plant.
 The main effect of fouling is that the removal of permeate decreases as filtration
proceeds.
 The fouling effect can be reduced in certain systems by using backflush, reverse
flow or UTP (possible when ceramic membranes are used).

PRESSURE CONDITIONS
Pressure is the driving force of filtration, and an important distinction must be
made between:

1. The hydraulic pressure drop along the module P = P 1- P2.

The higher the velocity through the module the higher the value of P. A higher
velocity results in a higher shear at the membrane surface and a lower polarization
effect. However, there are constraints such as the membrane's resistance to

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 pressure and the price of pumps capable of delivering both high flows and high
pressure.
2. TMP is the pressure drop between the retentate and the permeate sides of the
membrane at a particular point along the membrane. The main criterion of a
membrane system's efficiency is expressed as the flux – the flow per
membrane area and hour, l/m2/h, and is a function of TMP.
The TMP, i.e. the force pushing the permeate through the membrane, is greatest at
the inlet and lowest at the discharge end of the module. Since the decrease in TMP
is linear, an average TMP is given by:
The hydraulic pressure drop over the membrane (A) and the transmembrane
pressure profile (B) are illustrated in Figure 6.4.14.

Fig. 6.4.14
Hydraulic (A) and transmembrane (B) pressure drops over a membrane.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANT DESIGNS

The operation of membrane filtration plants mostly depends on the pressure
generated by the pumps used. The following guides should be taken into
consideration:

1. The capacity of the pump(s) should match the required flow rate and the
characteristics of the module(s), which vary widely according to module design
and size.

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2. The pump(s) should be insensitive to changes in the viscosity of the processed
stream up to the viscosity limit of the module. It/they should also operate
efficiently at the temperatures used for processing and cleaning.
3. The pump(s) must satisfy the sanitary standards for dairy equipment.
Several types of pumps are used, including centrifugal pumps and positive
displacement pumps. Sanitary centrifugal pumps are normally used as feed and
circulation pumps, but sanitary positive displacement pumps are occasionally used
as high-pressure feed and circulation pumps for high-viscosity liquids, e.g. in the
final stages of ultrafiltration of acidified milk.
Membrane separation plants can be used for both batch and continuous production.
The feed solution must not contain coarse particles, which can damage the very
thin filtration layer/active layer. For this reason, a fine-meshed strainer is often
integrated into the feed system.

BATCH PRODUCTION
Plants for batch production (Figure 6.4.15) are mainly used for filtering small
volumes of product, for example in laboratories and experimental plants. A certain
amount of the product to be treated is kept in a buffer tank. The product is
circulated through the membrane separator until the required concentration is
obtained.

CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION
Schematic designs of the membrane filtration plants referred to are seen in Figures
6.4.16 and 6.4.17. The plants illustrated in Figure 6.4.16 represent spiral-wound
concepts for RO, NF and UF applications with polymer membranes of different
pore sizes, while Figure 6.4.17 shows an MF plant with ceramic membranes.
As the RO membranes are much tighter than those of the two other systems, a
higher inlet pressure is required for production. This is maintained by three
sanitary centrifugal feed pumps in series and one sanitary centrifugal circulation
pump.
The other two filtration plants, NF and UF, have more open membranes and can
therefore manage with two feed pumps and one feed pump respectively.
As was mentioned earlier, the MF concept is based on two filter modules operated
in series in a filter loop system that also has one centrifugal pump for circulation of
the retentate and one for circulation of the permeate.
The feed solution may be supplied from a separation plant with a system for

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 constant pressure at the outlet, or from a balance tank equipped with a pump and a
system for capacity regulation.

Fig. 6.4.15
Batch membrane filtration plant.

1. Product tank
2. Feed pump
3. Circulation pump
4. Strainer
5. Membrane module
6. Cooler
PROCESSING TEMPERATURE IN MEMBRANE FILTRATION
APPLICATIONS
In most cases, the processing temperature is about 10 – 50 °C for dairy
applications. Filtration plants are normally supplemented with a simple cooling
system integrated into the internal circulation loop to compensate for the slight rise
in temperature that occurs during operation and to maintain a constant processing
temperature.

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 Fig. 6.4.16
Design principles for different filter loops.

1. Membrane

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2. Cooler
3. Strainer

Fig. 6.4.17
Design principle of a MF filter loop.

1. MF membrane cartridge
2. Circulation pump for retentate

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 Fig. 6.4.18
Production module for UF processing.

Membrane separation processes use semipermeable membrane of definite physical

and chemical nature to separate molecules primarily on the basis of size, shape,
and chemical composition. A membrane separation system separates an influent
stream into two effluent streams known as permeate and the concentrate. The
permeate is the portion of the fluid that has passed through the semipermeable
membrane but the concentrate stream contains the constituents that have been
rejected by the membrane. Membrane separation processes have many advantages
over conventional separation processes:

1. Environmentally safe.
 
2. Produces high quality products.
 
3. Greater flexibility in designing system.
 
4. Easy to operate.
 
5. Clean technology.
 

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Membrane separation systems have been used extensively in the chemical process
industry but their use in the food industry is growing day by day. In food industry,
membrane separation process is mainly used for clarification of fruit juices by
using microfiltration and ultrafiltration. Membrane separation also used for
concentrating fruit juice and dairy products and also for purification of water.

Separation processes based on membrane utilize semipermeable membranes of the

appropriate physical and chemical nature to separate molecules primarily on the
basis of size, and, to a lesser extent, on shape and chemical composition [1]. In
these processes, the membrane acts as a selective barrier, enriching certain
components in a feed stream, and depleting it of others. Reid and Breton [2], who
used cellulose acetate (CA) membranes for desalination of water, made the first
real breakthrough. Shortly thereafter, Loeb and Sourirajan [3,4] developed the
casting procedure for asymmetric CA membranes. The most attractive feature of
the process is its simplicity. It involves only bulk movement of fluids using
mechanical energy (i.e., pumping). Membrane concentration processes have
several advantages over conventional 365 CRC_DK3871_ch016.qxd 5/18/2007
19:24 Page 365 concentration processes, i.e., evaporation. Undesirable heat-related
changes such as color, aroma, and viscosity characteristics are avoided because
membrane processes can be operated at room temperature. Unlike evaporation or
freeze concentration, membrane separation does not involve a phase change for
separation, thereby energy is used more efficiently. Membrane processing in food
industry has been applied mainly for clarification of fruit juices using
microfiltration and ultrafiltration, and for concentration of fruit juices and dairy
products. Clarified fruit juices may have better quality and stability, while
concentrated beverages are desirable for transport and storage. Filtration rate and
product quality are influenced by pretreatment of product, selection of membrane
system, and operating parameters. This chapter presents principles of membrane
separation processes, membrane materials and modules, performance measurement
of membrane system, and application of membranes for selected food groups.

 Principle in Membrane Separation

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A membrane process is a separation process that covers a broad range of problem
from particles to molecules and a wide variety of membranes are available to
design a process. Although the membranes may vary in material (organic vs.
inorganic) and structure (porous vs. nonporous) the basic principle of membrane
separation is the same. The separation process and mass transport through the
membranes is a function of the membrane being used and the constituents being
separated, and subsequently the theory used to describe the process and
mechanisms. However, common for all systems is the principle illustrated in
Fig. 1 where a membrane is considered a perm selective barrier, or interface
between two phases, and the separation process takes place due to a specific
driving force transporting a compound through the membrane from the one phase
to the other.
Open image in new window

Fig. 1
Schematic of membrane separation process with different driving forces that are
present
The membrane separation process is defined by which compound is more readily
transported (selectivity) through the membrane and by the flow of the specific
compound (flux). Though this may occur by various mechanisms the performance
and efficiency of the process is described by these parameters. The selectivity of a
membrane is generally expressed as a retention factor (R) or by a separation factor
(α). The definition of retention factor is given by Eq. (1):
(1)
Retention is often used for dilute aqueous solutions where the solvent is the water.
As the retention is a dimensionless unit it expresses a percent that varies between
100 and 0 %, where R = 100 % means a complete retention of the solute, while R = 
0 % means both the solute and the solvent pass equally through the membrane. The

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separation efficiency of gas mixtures and organic mixtures is generally expressed
by the separation factor. For a binary mixture of compounds A and B, the
separation factor is expressed by the respective concentrations in the feed (xA, xB)
and permeate (yA, yB) as expressed by Eq. (2);

The selectivity is chosen such that its value is greater than unity and it is expressed
by which component passes through the membrane, i.e., for αA/B the permeation
rate of compound A is greater than compound B. If αA/B = αB/A = 1, no separation
is achieved
Important Membrane Processes
There are several membrane separation processes which are of industrial
importance as on today. They are briefly discussed below with respect to their
principal characteristics.

1 Reverse Osmosis (RO)

The Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a process wherein a relatively pure solvent is
separated from a salt solution by using a semipermeable membrane by the
application of hydrostatic pressure. The hydrostatic pressure can vary from 2 MPa
to around 6 MPa depending upon the salt content of the feed mixture. The solvent
permeates preferentially through the membranes whereas the solutes, particularly
electrolytes and low molecular weight nonelectrolytes are retained by the
membranes. For effectively retaining microsolutes having molecular weight less
than 300 or effective size less than 10 Å, reverse osmosis process is used. The
process is used to produce relatively pure water or a concentrated solution of
microsolutes from a given salt solution. A simple schematic of the process is given
in Fig. 2. The most notable example of reverse osmosis process is the production
of drinking water from naturally occurring saline waters.

Fig. 2
The schematic representation of a reverse osmosis process

2 Nanofiltration (NF)

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The process of nanofiltration is slightly different from the reverse osmosis process
in the sense that the permeating species in this case is solvent as well as low
molecular solutes or low valency solutes. This process also operates with
hydrostatic pressure difference across a semipermeable membrane having pore
sizes which are slightly larger than that of reverse osmosis membranes. The pore
sizes of NF membranes are in the range of 10–30 Å. The hydrostatic pressure used
in this process can vary from 1.5 to 2 MPa. This process is essentially used to
fractionate solutes based on valency of either cation or anion and also to separate
various organic solutes of low molecular weights. Various applications of NF
process are briefly outlined in latter part of this unit.

3 Ultrafiltration (UF)

The ultrafiltration (UF) is a process wherein the solvent along with micro-solutes
permeates through the membrane and macrosolutes are retained by the membranes.
This process is similar to sieving and the driving force is the hydrostatic pressure
across the membrane. The process is used to fractionate the solutes in a solution
based on their size or molecular weight difference. Size or the molecular weight
difference of the macrosolute retained by the membrane depends upon the pore
size of the membranes. Microsolutes whose effective sizes are smaller than the
pore size of the membranes permeate along with the solvent, whereas macrosolutes
whose effective sizes are larger than the pore size of the membranes are retained.
The driving force used in ultrafiltration processes is of the order of 500 kPa or so.
The membranes used in ultrafiltration processes have pore sizes ranging from
around 30 to 200 Å. Typical applications of the ultrafiltration process are the
concentration of protein in milk for cheese making and separation of colloidal
particles, oils, and macromolecules from effluent waters as well as from surface
waters.

4 Microfiltration (MF)
The microfiltration (MF) is a process mainly used for the separation of submicron
size (<0.1 m) particulate matter from solution. This process also requires
hydrostatic pressure gradient across the membrane and the pressure used is of the
order of 100 kPa or so. The pore size of the membranes decides the size of the
particulate matter retained. The process is similar to ultrafiltration and separation
takes place by sieving. The essential difference between ultrafiltration and
microfiltration is the size of the macrosolute retained, pore size of the membranes,
and the hydrostatic pressure needed across the membranes. Typical applications of
microfiltration process are in the removal of bacteria from water samples and
removal of submicron size suspended dust and particulate matters from gas

29 | P a g e
streams. Removal of chemical oxygen demand from effluent waters is another
important application of the MF process (Table 1; Fig. 3).
Table 1
Membrane filtration range

Filtration Diameter of Molecular Filtrate

spectrum pores in weight (of
membrane solute)

Microfiltration 0.05–5.0 >1,000,000 Latex, blood, paint pigment,

indigo dye, yeast, bacteria, plant
gums, amylopectin

Ultrafiltration 0.005–0.1 4,000–10,000 Colloidal silica, virus, enzymes,

protein, gelatin, amylose

Nanofiltration 0.0005–0.01 100–500 Synthetic dye, antibiotics,

colorant, amino acids, sugars

Reverse 0.0001–0.001 <800 Atoms, metal ions, fragrance,

osmosis flavors, salts

30 | P a g e
Open image in new window

Fig. 3
Size separation capabilities of different membrane systems (from Anon 1997)

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 Membrane Performances
The flow of water through a membrane is described by
mw=KwA(ΔP−ΔII)t,mw=KwA(ΔP−ΔII)t, (3)
where m w is water flow rate (kg/s), ΔP is the hydraulic pressure differential across
the membrane (kPa), ΔII is the osmotic pressure difference across the membrane
(kPa), t is time (s), A is area (m2), and kw is the coefficient of water permeability
through the membrane (kg/[m2kPa]).
The flow of a solute through a membrane is given by
ms=KsAΔct,ms=KsAΔct,
(4)
where m s is the solute flow rate, Δc is the differential of solute concentration
across the membrane (kg/m3), and K s is the coefficient of solute permeability
through the membrane (L/m).

It is evident that water flow rate through the membrane is increased by increasing
the hydraulic pressure gradient across the membrane. The hydraulic pressure
gradient has no effect on the solute flow rate. The solute flow is influenced by the
concentration gradient across the membrane.

The performance of a membrane system is often described by the retention factor,

Rf
Rf=(cf−cp)cf,Rf=(cf−cp)cf,
(5)
where c f is the concentration of a solute in the feed stream (kg/m 3) and c p is the
concentration of a solute in the permeate stream (kg/m3).
Another factor used to describe the performance of a membrane system is the
“rejection factor,” R j
Rj=(cf−cp)cpRj=(cf−cp)cp
(6)
Membrane performance may be expressed as molecular weight cutoff or the
maximum molecular weight for the solute to pass through the membrane.
Another term used to denote membrane performance is conversion percentage, Z.
Z=mp×100mf,Z=mp×100mf, (7)
where m p is product flow rate and m f is the feed flow rate. Thus, operating a
membrane at a conversion percentage of 70 % means that a feed of 100 kg/h will
yield 70 kg/h of product (permeate) and 30 kg/h of retentate (Sing and
Heldman 1992).

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 Membrane Modules
A wide variety of materials are used for manufacturing of membranes, including
sintered metals, ceramics, and polymers (Table 2 ). The membrane structure varies
in its chemical nature, microcrystalline structure, pore size and pore size
distribution, and degree of asymmetry. Two simple parameters—membrane
permeates flux and solute rejections—are used to describe the characteristics of
membranes. Since the properties of membrane material can be influenced by
environmental conditions and time, secondary properties such as resistance to
compaction, temperature and chemical stability, and resistance to microbial attack
are also important. Additional requirements for food processing are good tolerance
of cleaning and disinfecting solutions and lack of toxicity of the contact materials
(Cheryan 1992). Membranes are assembled as modules that are easily integrated
into systems containing hydraulic components. The modules are designed to
contain large membrane area in a small volume, withstand the pressures required
during separation, and crossflow velocities required to maintain a clean membrane
surface (Mannapperuma 1997). The most common module configurations are flat
plate, tubular, hollow fiber, and spiral wound (Fig. 4). Each design has its own
advantages and disadvantages. In flat plate modules, two flat sheets are separated
by a support plate that also contains the permeate channels. These membrane
sandwiches are separated by a spacer that also has feed-flow channels. Alternate
layers of membrane sandwiches and spacers are assembled and held together by
bolts. Advantages of such system are (1) fairly low holdup and moderately high
packing density, (2) easy membrane replacement, (3) flexibility with regard to
membrane usage, (4) simplicity in the capacity, and (5) ability of module to
withstand high pressures. The main disadvantages are susceptibility to fouling by
suspended particles and high initial capital cost. Tubular modules consist of
membrane casted inside a porous support tube, typically 6–25 mm in diameter.
Several of such tubes are housed within one pressure vessel in a shell and tube
arrangement. Advantages of tubular modules include (1) high turbulence, (2)
ability to handle suspended particles of 1–1.5 mm, and (3) easy cleaning. The
major disadvantages are low surface area to volume and high energy costs for
pressures. Hollow fine fiber modules are made with a strand of fine fiber about 50–
100 mm in diameter. A bundle of fibers are formed into U shape, the ends are
formed into a single header, and the U bundle is placed in a tube. The feed liquid is
outside the fibers, while the permeate flows into the fibers. Some advantages of
this configuration are (1) compactness, very high packing density; (2) relatively
low holdup; and (3) high resistance to compression and hence can withstand high
pressures. Some disadvantages are (1) extremely susceptible to fouling by
suspended particles, (2) difficulty in operating in sanitary mode and in cleaning,

33 | P a g e
and (3) individual membrane elements (i.e., fibers) cannot be replaced when
damaged. Spiral wound modules utilize flat sheet membranes. Two membrane
sheets are sandwiched with a permeate spacer between them and three edges are
sealed. The fourth is connected to a central perforated tube. A feed channel spacer
is placed on top of one layer, and the membrane-screen composite is rolled into a
spiral configuration around the central collection tube. The module is placed inside
the tubular pressure vessel. Feed flows longitudinally in the feed channel, while
permeate flows between the membrane sandwich and spirally around to the
permeate collection tube (Cheryan 1992). Advantages of such systems are (1)
relatively high packing density, (2) low cost per unit membrane area, (3) easy
replacement of modules from the pressure vessels, and (4) low energy
consumption. The disadvantage is difficulty in cleaning when fouled with large
amount of suspended matter and hence pre filtration is needed. The selection of
module configuration and membrane material depends on the feed type and
economics.
Table 2
Polymer, ceramic, and metallic base membranes and their filtration range and
modules

Membrane Filtration material Range module

Polymers

Cellulose acetate (CA) NF, RO FP, TU, HFF, SW

Polyamide (PA) NF, RO FP, TU, HFF, SW

Sulfonated polysulfone NF, RO, UF FP, TU, HFF, SW

Polysulfone MF, UF FP, TU, SW

Polyethersulfone MF, UF FP, SW

Polyviniylidenefluoride MF, UF FP, TU, HF, SW

Polytetrafluoroethylene MF FP, TU, SW

Polypropylene MF FP, HF

Polyacrylonitrile MF, UF FP, HF, SW

Polycarbonate MF

34 | P a g e
 Membrane Filtration material Range module

Polyester MF

Ceramics/metallic

Zirconia/alumina MF, UF TU

Alumina MF TU

Silicon carbide MF TU

Zirconia/metal MF TU

Titanium oxide/metal MF TU

Sintered steel MF TU, FP

Zirconia/carbon MF TU

Sintered alloys MF TU, FP

Silica MF TU
Note: MF microfiltration, UF ultrafiltration, NF nanofiltration, RO reverse
osmosis, FP flat plate, TU tubular, HF hollow fiber, HFF hollow fine
fiber, SW spiral wound
Source Adapted from Mannapperuma (1997)

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Fig. 4
Membrane modules (Mannapperuma 1997)

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 Applications in the Food Industry
1 Removal of Bacteria and Spores from Milk, Whey, and Cheese Brine
The removal of bacteria and spores from milk to extend its shelf-life by MF is an
alternative way to ultra-pasteurization. In this approach, the organoleptic and
chemical properties of the milk are unaltered. The first commercial system of this
so-called Bactocatch was developed by Alfa Laval (Hansen 1988) and marketed by
Tetra Pak under the name Tetra Al cross_ Bactocatch. In this process, the raw milk
is separated into skim milk and cream, see Fig.5. The resulting skim milk is
microfiltered using ceramic membranes with a pore size of 1.4 mm at constant
transmembrane pressure (TMP). Thus, the retentate contains nearly all the bacteria
and spores, while the bacterial concentration in the permeate is less than 0.5 % of
the original value in milk. The retentate is then mixed with a standardized quantity
of cream. Subsequently, this mix is subjected to a conventional high heat treatment
at 130 °C for 4 s and reintroduced into the permeate, and the mixture is then
pasteurized. Since less than 10 % of the milk is heat treated at the high
temperature, the sensory quality of the milk is significantly improved. MF for the
removal of bacteria and spores can be further applied in the production of other
dairy products. In the production of cheese, the use of low bacterial milk improves
also the keeping quality of cheese due to the removal of spores, thus eliminating
the need of additives (e.g., nitrate). While in the production of whey protein
concentrates (WPC) and isolates (WPI), this MF concept is used to remove
bacteria and spores giving a high quality product. Hence, by applying MF the heat
treatment of the WPC/WPI is kept to a minimum, which preserves the functional
properties of the whey proteins. Finally, in the manufacture of cheese the
concentrated curd is submerged in a salt solution to improve the cheese
preservation and to develop the flavor and other cheese properties. This process is
called brining. Efficient sanitation of cheese brine has become a major concern to
the dairy industry in recent years. This results from the possibility of
postcontamination of cheeses in the brine, especially by pathogenic bacteria. The
application of MF for sanitation of cheese brine, using ceramic or spiral wound
membranes, results in a superior cheese quality compared to the traditional
processes of heat treatment and kieselguhr filtration. MF has the advantages of
being simple to perform, of maintaining the chemical balance of the brine and of
eliminating filter aids. In the brine treatment by MF it is normally necessary to
make a pre filtration of the brine solution, which is easily done by dead-end filter
bag or cartridge with a pore size of 100 mm (Ottosen and Kønigsfeldt 1999).

37 | P a g e
 Fig. 5
Bacterial removal from milk by MF

2 Cheese Manufacturing
Another early application of membrane technology in the dairy industry was in
cheese manufacturing for production of Feta cheese and brine treatment by UF.
Nowadays, membrane-processed milk is also successfully used in the
manufacturing of quark and cream cheeses. Together with WPC production, the
use of UF milk for the production of cheese is the most widespread application of
membranes in the dairy industry. The advantages of UF concentrated milk in
cheese making compared to traditional methods are the following: Increases the
total solid, which increase the cheese yield and therefore decreases the production
costs in terms of energy and equipment; reduces the rennet and starter culture
requirements since UF-milk has a good ability of enzymatic coagulation; reduces
the wastewater processing costs of the cheese plant; improves the quality and
composition control; increases the nutritional value due to the incorporation of the
whey protein in the cheese. UF in cheese processing can be used in three ways
(Rosenberg 1995):

1. 1.

38 | P a g e
 Pre-concentration—The standardized cheese milk is concentrated by a factor of
1.2–2 and it can be used for most cheese types. This allows the capacity of the
cheese vats and whey draining equipment to be doubled. However, the cheese
yield will not be significantly improved since only 4.5–5 % of the protein content
is increased. It is used to produce Cheddar, Cottage Cheese, and Mozzarella, and it
can be used to standardize cheese milk and manipulate its mineral composition,
resulting in a more consistent quality in the final product.
 
2. 2.
Partial concentration—The standardized cheese milk is concentrated by a factor 2–
6. It is used in the manufacture of Cheddar cheese by using for example, the APV-
Siro Curd process, in which the milk is concentrated five times with DF in order to
standardize the salt balance (Tamime 1993). It is also used to produce other cheese
types like Queso Fresco, structure Feta, Camembert, and Brie.
 
3. 3.
Total concentration—The standardized cheese milk is concentrated to the total
solids content in the final cheese. This provides the maximum yield increase and
since there is no whey drainage, the cheese can be manufactured without the need
for a cheese vat. It is used to produce cast Feta, quark, cream cheese, Ricotta, and
Mascarpone. The UF permeate, which contains mainly lactose, can be concentrated
by RO. The permeate from the RO process can be polished by another RO unit.
After pasteurization or UV light treatment, the permeate from the polisher can be
used at the plant as process water, thus reducing the water costs of the plant.
Although UF has advantages in cheese production, the increase of whey content in
the cheese due to the concentration of all milk proteins can have a negative effect
on the ripening of semi hard and hard cheeses (Qvist et al. 1986) Therefore, UF
should be viewed as a complementary process to cheese manufacturing and not as
an alternative process.
 

3 Beer
The conventional brewing process starts in the brew house with the stepping of the
malt with hot water to produce wort, a thick sweet liquid. The wort is then passed
to the wort boiler in which it is brewed/boiled for up to 2 h followed by
clarification and cooling. The clarified and cooled wort is combined with yeast and
passed on to the fermentation tanks in which the yeast converts the grain sugar to
alcohol and as such produces beer. Before being transferred to the bright beer
tanks, the beer is commonly clarified. The finished beer might then be fine-filtered
and pasteurized before bottling. In the case of beer de-alcoholisation, the alcohol
39 | P a g e
removal takes place before the beer clarification. The overall brewing process with
potential applications of crossflow membrane filtration is shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6
Beer production with membrane technology

4 Fruit Juices
The general production flow in the fruit juice industry starts with grinding or
crushing of the fruits into an optimal and uniform size of particles and then
pressing out the fruit mash. The traditional fining process consists of long retention
time in tanks followed by kieselguhr filtration and requires large amounts of
enzymes, gelatin and other chemicals. After clarification/fining, the fruit juice is
concentrated to reduce costs for transportation and storage. The common approach
to concentrate fruit juice is by using an evaporator combined with an aroma-
recovery unit concentrating the apple juice from originally 11–12 Brix to over 70
Brix. The concentrated fruit juice can then be optionally pasteurized before
transportation. The general fruit juice production process including membrane
processes is shown in Fig. 7

40 | P a g e
Fig. 7
Membrane processes in fruit juice production

5 Fruit Juice Clarification

The clarification of fruit juice, mainly apple but also grape, pineapple, and orange
juice by UF has proven to be an attractive substitute for the traditional fining and
41 | P a g e
filtering process from an economic and qualitative point of view since the 1970s.
The UF process removes the suspended solids and other high molecular solids and
the filtered juice obtains a clarity and excellent quality, which has not previously
been obtainable. Thus, the UF process substitutes the fining step in the traditional
process. In order to achieve high yield, high capacity and excellent quality, an
enzyme treatment and proper pre filtration must be carried out before the UF
system is utilized. Until now, the industrial standard is to use polymeric and
ceramic tubular modules for the clarification of the juice. However, this module
type is associated with low packing density and high membrane replacement costs.
Furthermore, this process is commonly run in batch mode and difiltration water has
to be added in the final stage of the clarification to maximize the process yield.
More recently, a new concept has been developed, which combines a high-speed
separator with spiral-wound UF modules to overcome these limitations
(Gebhardt 2001), see Fig. 7.

6 Fruit Juice Concentration

For the concentration of apple juice, the combination of RO and evaporation can
provide an interesting process combination. RO as initial step can remove more
than 50 % of the water content prior to evaporation, while maintaining 98–99 % of
sugar and acid as well as 80–90 % of volatile flavors in the concentrate see Fig.
1.5.2. By applying RO, concentration levels of 20–25 Brix can be achieved, while
the subsequent evaporation can boost these levels to above 75 Brix. By applying
this concept, only 7–9 kWhperm3 fruit juice are required, which represents an
energy saving of 60–75 % compared to direct evaporation. Furthermore, the
permeate from the RO unit can be recycled as process water as process water.

7 Other Membrane Applications in the Food Industry

The development of new applications of the established membrane processes MF,
UF, NF, and RO will be driven by economical and environmental targets. An
additional driver for membrane processes is the high growth rate of the market for
functional foods, a segment in which membranes has a high potential. In Table 3,
some of the most recent research trends on membrane applications for MF, UF,
NF, and RO in the food industry are summarized.
Table 3
Applications of MF, UF, NF, and RO in the food industry

42 | P a g e
 Application Membrane
processes

Concentration of whole and skim milk RO

Partly demineralized WPC (baby food, special WPC products) NF/UF

Production of whey protein concentrates and isolates UF

Concentration of chicken blood plasma MF/UF

Filtration of extra-virgin olive oil MF/UF

Dry degumming of vegetable oil UF/NF

6.8 Future Scope of Membrane Processing

Countries are implementing legislation for sustainable waste management

practices. In the European Union, (Smith 2002) organic waste disposal must be
reduced by 80 % in 2010. Food companies are investigating the use of membrane
separations in new products or reduction of waste streams. New material Such as
ceramics and synergies with biotechnology demonstrate the potential of
membranes is far from exhausted (Pap et al. 2004).

MEMBRANE SEPARATION
(Membrane processing methods and equipment, RO, NF,UF,MF, Applications of
membrane
separation, Membrane techniques, Membrane materials, Membrane modules)
Membrane separation is a process of separating food components by using
semipermeable
membranes, basing on the molecular size and molecular weight of the components.
The driving force of the separation process is, for example, differences in
concentration or
pressure between the two sides of the membrane.
Membrane separation processes can remove much smaller substances, such as
viruses
and dissolved ions, from the water.
Fig. 12.1 Principle of operation in membrane separation
MEMBRANE PROCESSING METHODS
The different membrane processing methods are as follows.

43 | P a g e
Reverse osmosis (RO). Concentration of solution by removal of water
Nanofiltration (NF). Concentration of organic components by removal of part of
monovalent
ions like sodium and chlorine (partial demineralization).
Ultrafiltration (UF). Concentration of large and macro molecules
Microfiltration (MF). Removal of bacteria, separation of macromolecules
The difference in application of these technologies is shown in Fig. 12.2.
2
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
Fig. 12.2 Application of different membrane processing technologies
Fig. 12.3 Range of concentration in various filtration systems
There are also other methods for selective separation as follows.
• Pervaporation
• Ion exchange
• Electro-dialysis
REVERSE OSMOSIS
It is a membrane separation process, driven by a pressure gradient, in which the
membrane separates the solvent (generally water) from other components of a
solution. The
solvent flow is opposite to the normal osmotic flow.
3
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
The membrane pore size is very small allowing only small amounts of very low
molecular weight solutes to pass through the membranes.
Applications
Broadly used to separate water from low molecular weight solutes (salts, aroma
compounds etc.),
which have high osmotic pressure.
• Concentrate and purify fruit juices, enzymes, fermentation liquors and vegetable
oils;
pre-concentrate juices and dairy products before evaporation.
• Concentrate wheat starch, citric acid, egg white, milk, coffee, syrup, natural
extracts and
flavors.
• To clarify wine and beer (De-alcoholization for low alcohol wines and beers)
• To determine and purify water from boreholes or rivers or desalination of sea
water.
• Water and waste water purification.
• Concentration of whey during cheese manufacture.
RO materials and equipment
44 | P a g e
• Polymer having high permeability for water, high rejection for soluble salts and
durability.
• Cellulose acetate is outstanding being inexpensive.
• Polyacrylonitrile, polyamides, polyurethanes are also used, but they have low
temperature resistance and low pH range.
• Polysulphones and ceramic materials can withstand high temperature and wider
pH
range.
• Operating pressure ranging from 40 to 80 bar @ 450 to 2400 lit/h of flux.
NANOFILTRATION (NF)
• New class of pressure-driven membrane processes that lies between RO and UF
• Pressure range: 10-50 bar (lower pressure than RO)
• Rejects ions with more than one negative charge (such as SO42-, CO32-)
• Also known as loose reverse osmosis
Applications
• Removes materials having molecular weight between 300 to 1000 Da.
• Employed for pre concentration for RO.
• Removal of inorganic salts Na, K, Cl, urea, lactic acid
• Partial demineralization
• Membranes that leak particle species with a radius in the nanometer range
Reduction of salty taste as well as reduction of salt from cheese making
4
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
•
• Pretreatment for electro dialysis, ion exchange
• Acid removal
Separation of dispersed particles such as colloids, fat globules etc.
ULTRAFILTRATION
Ultra-filtration is similar to reverse osmosis with low pressure of operation. In UF,
the
membrane pore size is larger allowing some components to pass through the pores
with the
water. It is a separation/ fractionation process.
Fig. 12.4 Difference between RO and UF
Dia-filtration is a specialized type of ultra-filtration process in which the retentate
is
diluted with water and re-ultra filtered, to reduce the concentration of soluble
permeate
components and increase further the concentration of retained components.
Fig. 12.5 Diafiltration process
45 | P a g e
Equipment
• U.F. membranes have higher porosity.
• They operate under low pressure (0.05 to 10 bar @ 2400 lit/hr of flux).
• Polymers like polysulphones, polyamides, PVC, polystyrene, polycarbonates and
polyethers are normally used.
5
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
Applications of ultrafiltration
• Most commonly used to pre concentrate milk prior to preparation of other range
of dairy
products
• Concentration of sucrose and tomato paste.
• Separation and concentration of enzymes, other proteins or pectin.
• Treatment of water to remove bacteria and contaminants greater than 0.003 μ dia.
• To selectively remove lactose and salts from the whey.
• Removal of protein hazes from honey & syrups.
• Pretreatment for RO to prevent fouling by organic and colloidal material
Fig. 12.6 Integrated membrane filtration system comprising UF plant for
WPC & RO
plant for lactose concentration
Fig. 12.7 Module filters for food and beverages
6
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
Fig. 12.8 Filter to remove microbiological impurities from cheese brine
MICROFILTRATION
• Microfiltration (MF) designates a membrane separation process similar to UF but
with
even larger membrane pore size allowing particles in the range of 0.2 to 2
micrometers to
pass through.
• The pressure used is generally lower than that of UF process.
• MF is used in the dairy industry for making low-heat sterile milk.
Table 12.1 Applications of membrane filtration
Permeate Concentrate
RO dyeing effluent clean water BOD, salt, chemicals, waste
products
water low salinity water salty water
whey low BOD permeate whey concentrate
NF antibiotics salty waste product desalted, concentrated antibiotics
dyeing effluent clean, salty water BOD/COD, color
46 | P a g e
water softened water water product
whey salty waste water desalted whey concentrate
UF antibiotics clarified fermented broth waste product
7
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
bio gas waste clarified liquid for discharge microbes to be recycled
carrageenan waste product concentrated carrageenan
enzymes waste product high value product
milk lactose solution protein concentrate for cheese
production
oil emulsion oil free water (<10 ppm) highly concentrated oil emulsion
washing effluent clarified water dirty water (waste product)
water clarified water waste product
whey lactose solution whey protein concentrate
xantan waste product concentrated xantan
Membrane techniques
• Counter diffusion
• Osmotic distillation
• Electro dialysis
• Ion-exchange
Counter diffusion
• Separate small ions from large molecules.
• Hollow fiber cellulose diffusion tubes.
• Counter diffusion can produce 50 per cent demineralization.
• which may represent 70 per cent removal of monovalents.
Osmotic distillation
• Low pressure and low temperature separation
• Hollow fiber or spiral wound hydrophobic membrane
Electro dialysis
• Similar to Ion exchange separation.
• Used to separate electrolytes from non-electrolytes and to exchange ions between
solutions.
• Direct current is passed through a solution having number of ion exchange
plates/membranes.
• The ion selective membranes act as barriers to either cations or anions.
8
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
• Anions and cations are attracted towards anodes and cathodes, respectively.
• The membranes are arranged alternatively to form ion diluting cells and ion
concentrating
47 | P a g e
cells.
• Electro dialysis is used for demineralization of milk products.
• It is also used for desalination of water.
• Also used to de-mineralize whey, to remove potassium and tartaric acid from
wines and
to de acidify fruit juices.
Fig. 12.9 Electro dialysis process
Ion- exchange
• Food components are separated basing on their electrical properties.
• Metal ions, proteins, amino acids and sugar are transferred from the feed and
retained on
a solid ion exchange material.
• Two types of ion exchangers (having fixed electrical charges) namely cation
exchanger
that attracts cations and anion exchanger that attracts anions by a process called
electro
static adsorption.
• The components are then separated by washing off the ion exchangers.
• They are constructed using porous matrix made of polyacrylamides, polystyrenes,
dextrans or silica.
• Generally employed for de-colorization of sugar syrup, protein recovery from
whey,
softening & demineralization of water and separation of enzymes.
9
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
Membrane material
• Membranes may be composed of natural (e.g. modified natural cellulose
polymers ) or
synthetic polymers (plastic materials) or inorganic ceramic materials.
• They should be good film formers ,manage high permeate flows and have high
selectivity.
• They should have good chemical and bacteriological resistance, be resistant to
detergents
and disinfectants.
• Be inexpensive.
Table 12. 2 Advantages and limitations of different membranes used in R.O.
and U.F.
Type of membrane Advantages Limitations
Cellulose acetate High permeate flux, good salt

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rejection, easy to manufacture
Operates below 300C and pH
range 3 to 6, broken down by
chlorine
Polysulphones,
polyamides, PVC, poly
styrene, poly carbonates,
poly ethers
Better temperature resistance
Better pH resistance
Better chlorine resistance, easy to
fabricate
Don’t withstand high
pressure-restricted to UF,
Poly amides are more
sensitive to chlorine than
cellulose acetate
Composite or ceramic
membranes (porous
carbon, zirconium oxide,
alumina)
Inert, very wide range of operating
temperature and pH, resistant to
chlorine and easily cleaned
Expensive
MEMBRANE MODULES
The different types of plate modules are as follows.
The tubular type
Hollow fibre
Wide tube design
The flat plate type
Plate and frame type
Spiral wound cartridges
The flat plate type
• Plate and frame design is similar to plate filter press.
10
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
• Have membranes stacked together with intermediate spacers and collection plates
to
remove permeate.
49 | P a g e
• Either laminar or turbulent flow.
• The feed can be passed in either series or parallel.
• High surface area to be fitted in a compact space.
• Individual plates can be replaced easily, hence less expensive.
Plate and frame design
• Membrane sandwiched between membrane support plates which are arranged in
stacks
similar to a plate heat exchanger
• Typically polymers (e.g. polyethersulfone) with polypropylene or polyolefin
support
• UF (<1 to 1000 kDa MWCO)
• MF (0.1 to 0.16 um diameter)
Fig. 12.10 Plate and frame module in waste water system
Oval shaped Rectangle shaped
Fig. 12.11 Types of plates
Spiral wound system
• In the spiral wound system, alternating layers of polysulphone membranes with
polyethylene supports are wrapped around a hollow central tube, separated by
channel
spacers and drains.
• The cartridge is about 12cm in diameter and 1m long.
• Feed liquid enters the cartridge and flows tangentially to the membranes.
11
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
• The permeate flows into the central tube and the concentrate flows out of the
other end of
cartridge.
• Separator screens cause turbulent flow and hence more flux.
• Low cost and popularly adopted.
Fig. 12.12 Spiral wound membrane
The tubular type
• Hollow fibre systems are usually a narrow tube made of a non-cellulosic polymer,
have
50-1000 fibres, 1m long, 0.001-1.2 mm diameter.
• Attached to each end of a tubular sheet.
• Having large surface area, generally employed for R.O.
• Comparatively expensive as whole cartridge is changed in case a single fibre is
damaged
• They are easy to clean and don’t block easily.

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• In Wide tube design, a number of stainless steel tubes having lined membranes
are
fabricated.
• Give rigid support to membranes.
• About 20 tubes, each 1.2-3.6m long & 12-25mm diameter are fitted in parallel or
series.
• Operate under turbulent flow conditions with higher flux, hence can handle more
viscous
fluids.
12
Dairy and Food Engineering- Prof. S K Dash
Fig. 12.13 Hollow fibre membrane
Advantages of Membrane separation
• Basically membrane concentrations occur at ambient temperatures.
• Loss of heat sensitive nutrients and characteristics are insignificant.
• Sensory and nutritional qualities of foods remain unaltered.
• Simple installation with low operation costs and labor.
• In contrast to conventional concentration by evaporation, no requirement of
steam
boilers.
Limitations
• Change in concentration of feed affects the flux.
• Higher capital cost involvement than evaporation,
• Limited to maximum concentration to 30 per cent total solid.
• Fouling of membranes may adversely affect the efficiency and time of operation.
Pervaporation
It is another separation technique which has the following characteristics.
• Liquid feed mixture is separated by partial vaporization through a non porous
selectively
permeable membrane.
• Produces vapor permeate and liquid retentate.
• Partial vaporization done by decreasing pressure of the permeate side.
• Two types of membranes used.
• Hydrophilic polymers (polyvinyl alcohol or cellulose acetate) permit water
permeation.
• Hydrophobic polymers (polydimethyl siloxane or polytrimethyl silylpropyne)
permit
permeation of organic materials.
• Hydrophilic membranes are used to de-alcoholize wines and beers.
• Hydrophobic membranes are used to concentrate aroma compounds like alcohols,

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aldehydes and esters.

CASE STUDY OF MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY IN

FOOD INDUSTRY
The use of membrane technology as a processing and separation method in food
industry is gaining wide application. Membrane separations can be used either as
alternatives to conventional techniques or as novel technology for processing new
ingredients and foods. Membrane separations are considered green technologies. In
many cases, membrane processes are more advantageous than traditional
technologies. For example, using cold pasteurization and sterilization with suitable
membranes instead of high temperature treatment for the removal of
microorganisms is more economical in terms of energy consumption. Using
membrane filtration to remove microorganisms for shelf-life extension of foods
instead of using additives and preservatives also create a green image for the
processed foods as well as for the processing procedure. Concentration by
membrane filtration instead of thermal evaporation does not employ severe heating
and that it preserves the natural taste of food products and the nutritional value of
heat-sensitive components. The recovery of valuable components in diluted
effluents and wastewater treatment applications are among the most useful and
currently active aspects of membrane technology. Pressure-driven membrane
processes, namely MF, UF, NF and RO facilitate separation of components with a
large range of particle sizes. It is for this reason that they find wide range of
applications in food processing industry. The first part of this manuscript is to give
introduction about very basic knowledge in membrane separation technology.
More importantly, this review presents up-to-date commercial and potential
applications of pressure-driven membrane separation processes in dairy processing
industry.
Keywords: membrane separations, filtration, dairy, milk, cheese, whey
Abbreviations
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MFm, Micro Filtration; UF, ultra filtration; NF, nano filtration; RO, reverse
osmosis; TMP, transmembrane pressure; CF, cross flow; DF, diafiltration; UTMP,
uniform transmembrane pressure; NPN, non-protein nitrogenous; WPC, whey
protein concentrate; WPI, whey proteins isolate; ED, electro-dialysis; MFGM,
milk fat globule membrane; LAB, lactic acid bacteria
Introduction
Theory of membrane separations
Pressure-driven membrane processes: The pressure-driven membrane processes
include microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse
osmosis (RO). When a feed is introduced to a membrane separation system it is
separated into retentate (sometimes called concentrate), the fraction that is retained
by the membrane, and permeate (also called filtrate), the fraction that passes
through the membrane. The products of interest can either be in the retentate or in
permeate or in both streams. The word ‘pressure-driven’ means that the main
driving force for separation of these processes is transmembrane pressure (TMP),
which is the pressure discrepancy between retentate sides and permeate side.
Generally speaking, the pore sizes (or MWCO-molecular weight cut-off in cases of
NF and RO) of membranes decrease in the order from MF to RO (Figure 1).
However, the separation principle is not based on the pore sizes alone. Especially
in UF and NF the charge of the molecules/solutes and their affinity for the filtering
membrane are also important. MF is normally used for separation of suspended
particles and microorganisms from soluble components in feed. UF can be applied
to separate soluble macromolecules such as proteins and peptides. NF is applied
for partial demineralization and, at the same time, concentration. Basically, NF
allows monovalent salts to pass through while it retains multivalent salts.
Operational TMP values increase from MF to RO. For example, in MF
applications the applied TMP is rarely higher than 3 bar. While those for UF are
normally in range of 3-7 bar and for NF 10-30 bar. RO membranes, theoretically,
allow only water to permeate. This means that RO processes works against
chemical potential difference, namely osmotic pressure. For this reason, the
operational TMP applied in RO is normally much higher (e.g., 10-75 bar) than in
other pressure-driven separation processes. RO membranes, generally, reject 95%
NaCl.
Definitions and terms: To be easier to follow the following parts of this
manuscript, several common definitions and terms are given here. In dead-

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end filtration, which is normally applied in laboratory sample preparation, both
pressure vector and feed flow are normal to the membrane while in crossflow (CF)
or also called tangential filtration, the feed is pumped parallelly with the
membrane and it is possible to recirculate the retentate back to the feed flow
(Figure 2). Compared to dead-end filtration, CF filtration is, due to the tangential
movement of the feed, characterized with lower extent
of concentration polarizationand membrane fouling. These twophenomena are two
major obstacles causing reduction in membrane separation performance.
Concentration polarization expresses the raise-up in concentration of a
macromolecular solute (retained by the membrane) at the surface of the membrane
compared to that in the bulk phase. Membrane fouling indicates the deposition of
solutes/particles on the surface (external fouling) and/or into the membrane pores
(internal fouling). The components causing membrane fouling are called foulants.
Diafiltration (DF) is carried out by diluting theretentate with a pure solvent,
usually water or a buffer, and re-concentrating the diluted retentate. The main
purpose of DF is to increase the purity of the membrane-rejected components
(retentate components) and DF can be performed either in batch or in continuous
manner.
Membrane separation parameters: A schematic diagram of a membrane
separation unit with key parameters is illustrated in Figure 2. Other definitions
along with the calculation formulas are given in Table 1.

Figure 1 Approximate particle sizes and pressure-driven separation processes.2

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Figure 2 Schematic of a crossflow membrane separation unit with key parameters.
Membrane characteristics and membrane modules
Membrane characteristics: Selection of a suitable membrane is very important
determining the success of that specific application. Filtering membranes can be
made from organic polymeric or inorganic materials. Organic membranes are
generally available in a wide range of pore sizes, cheaper and normally have a high
packing density (high membrane surface area/a unit of space volume). Among the
disadvantages is that organic membranes, depending on materials, can only work
in certain ranges of temperatures, pH, and TMP. Organic membranes are also more
sensitive to washing chemicals too. In opposite, inorganic membranes (mostly
made of ceramic material) can be operated in more extreme conditions, have
longer service life. However, they are more expensive and the packing capacity is
low. Ceramic membranes are normally fabricated into tubular modules and, so far,
available for MF and UF. Membrane materials can be divided into two
groups, hydrophilic and hydrophobic membranes. Depending on properties of the
feed, a suitable membrane should be selected. For example to filter an aqueous
solution of proteins at neutral pH, hydrophilic membranes are considered to be
more advantageous over hydrophobic ones since negatively charged proteins are
more repulsive against hydrophilic membranes resulting in less occurrence/lower
extent of membrane fouling. Concerning structure, most of membranes
are asymmetric. For instance, membranes are fabricatedinto two layers, a thin
active layer being responsible for membrane selectivity and a thicker and more
porous layer for physical support.
Membrane modules: The word ‘module’ expresses how membranes are arranged
or packed. There are several types of membrane modules, namely plate-and-frame,
tubular, spiral-wound, hollow-fiber, and membrane cassette. Different types of
modules are different in packing density, possible applications, and price. The
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hollow-fiber and spiral-wound modules provide the largest packed membrane area
per unit volume. While plate-and-frame and tubular modules have the lowest
packing density, which means highest investment for a unit of membrane surface
area. Tubular modules (ceramic membranes) are used widely in MF of skim milk.
With this type of module, the feed channel is wide (e.g., from below 1 cm to 3 cm
in diameter) so the feed can be pumped with high CF velocities, which help
minimize the formation of concentration polarization and external membrane
fouling and hence improve permeate flux and allow the retentate to be
concentrated to a high level (higher VCR). Spiral-wound modules (diameters in
range of 0.1 to 2 mm) are the most common design for RO and UF membranes.6
Enhancement of membrane separation performance
Fouling can, in many cases especially in MF and UF of poly dispersed feeds like
milk, develop very quickly after the start of filtration, leading to a drop in permeate
flux. A typical permeate flux evolution during CF filtration of a constant-
concentration feed (e.g. both permeate and retentate are completely circulated back
to the feed tank) is shown in Figure 3. Both the internal and surface foulants act as
additional layers of resistance to the transmission of solutes through the membrane.
Because of that, the selectivity of the membrane is modified. The occurrence and
extent of concentration polarization and fouling depend on many factors including
feed properties (Figure 4), membrane materials and structure, membrane modules,
and operational parameters (Figure 4) such as temperatures, TMP values, and CF
velocities.7-10 There are several techniques which can be applied to increase the
membrane separation performance (improve permeate flux or prevent fast drop of
permeate flux and maintain membrane selectivity). First, operational conditions
should be optimized. It is not always true that increasing TMP results in increased
permeate flux (Figure 4). The ‘best’ filtering conditions are the settings at which
all sections (along the length) of the membrane work at the critical flux (Figure 4),
the flux at which fouling starts to occur. The uniform transmembrane pressure
(UTMP) configuration for tubular modules, patented by Alfa-Laval AB in Sweden.
is a ‘breakthrough’ in development of membrane separation technology (Figure 5).

56 | P a g e
Figure 3 Typical flux evolution during CF membrane filtration of a constant-
concentration feed.
Linear and fast drop of flux from that of pure water
Gradual flux declination, and
Time-independent steady-state permeate flux. Flux of the third stage is mainly
controlled by foulants and gradually decreases during the concentration process.
In a conventional tubular module, fouling occurs with higher extent at the feed-in
end of the membrane and selectivity is not the same along the membrane. In
UTMP, co-current flow of permeate is applied to create pressure in the permeate
side (Figure 5). Therefore, TMP can be adjusted independently with CF velocity
and that the whole system is easy to set under optimal conditions, e.g. low UTP at
high CF velocities, which lead to less compact fouling andvariation of selectivity
along the membrane tube. Membralox® GP, which is commercialized by PALL
Corp. (NewYork, USA) and Isoflux® by Tami Industries (Nyons, France) for MF
applications are called ceramic graded permeability modules which are tagged as
‘third generation’ membranes. In these tubular systems, the ‘constant’ permeate
rate along the membrane obtained by changes in the structure of the membranes,
either by increasing the porosity of the support layer as in Membralox 12 or
decreasing the thickness of the selective layer along the membrane tubes.

57 | P a g e
  


Figure 4 Profiles of permeate flux during filtration (e.g., MF and UF) of poly-
dispersed solutions.
Permeate flux vs. TMP in membrane filtration of feeds causing non-compressible
(solid line) or compressible (slashed line) surface fouling.
Permeate flux behaviors to operational conditions.

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Figure 5 Module design and pressure profiles of TMP (left) and UTMP (right)
filtration configuration.
Permeate backflow techniques include backwashing , backflushing,  backpulsing,
and backshock (backpulse with a reverseasymmetric membrane). An extra pump
(hence require extra energy, more complicate control system) in the permeate pipe
is needed to convert the TMP periodically during the operation and by that the
backflow of the permeate lifts up the foulants which are then swept away by the
crossflow of the retentate. The main differences of these methods are the applied
frequency (e.g., backflow is applied periodically after a set time period during
filtering), pressure discrepancy, and length of time for the permeate backflow.
Backwashing involves using a third solution (e.g., water) as a backflow while
others use the filtrate of the process. The backflow techniques help lengthen the
filtration time before the permeate flux decreases to an unaccepted level and as
such they reduce the frequency of chemical washings. Use of dynamic membranes
or application of external forces like electric field and ultrasound,application of
Gas/air sparging  are other techniques for enhancement of membrane separation
performance. The use of spacers (in organic polymeric membranes) and turbulence
promoters (in tubular ceramic membranes to create turbulent flow at the surface of
the membrane or to increase shear) also prove their efficiency in improvement of
membrane separation performance in many cases.  However, the introduction of
spacer and turbulence promoters increase the drop of TMP along the membrane
and in some cases the washing of the system after use becomes more challenging.
Many of the enhancement techniques are industrially applicable while other are
still under research and development phase. More information can be found in
review papers

Membrane processes in dairy industry

Milk, by nature, is a complicated and poly-dispersed system with suspended
particles and soluble molecules having different charges and being in wide Milk,
by nature, is a complicated and poly-dispersed system with suspended particles and
soluble molecules having different charges and being in a wide range of sizes. The
largest natural particles of milk are fat globules (1-15μm, with an average of
around 3.5μm) and the following are casein micelles with average diameter of
0.4μm.2 Milk contains many more other components such as whey proteins, non-
protein nitrogenous (NPN) compounds, lactose, minerals. As such, the use of any

59 | P a g e
membrane types for processing of milk or dairy processing-derived streams
becomes possible. This also means that the process performance is highly
dependent on membrane materials, pH, temperatures and other operational
parameters. Many discoveries on applications of membrane processing in food
industry come from the dairy industry. The application trend went from the use of
a membrane process in a single and separated processing step to the use of several
membrane processes/types in several steps and in integrated production lines.
Membrane processes can replace conventional processing methods. They can be
implemented as innovative methods for the production of tailored-functionality
ingredients in the development of new food products or improvement of existing
food products.2 A downstream processing line of milk and the corresponding
membrane processes involved at each level are shown in Figure 6. In the following
subsections, the main applications of membrane processing in dairy industry and
their advantages compared to corresponding conventional technologies are
presented. The readers can refer to other reviews for more information.

Figure 6 Membrane processes involved in the processing of milk to its purified

groups.
Separation and fractionation of milk fat globules

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As mentioned earlier, fat in milk occurs in form of globules. For standardization of
fat content in dairy processing, fat globules are separated from whole milk based
on the difference in density between the two phases using a cream separator (a
centrifuge). Technically, it is possible to use MF to separate fat globules from
whole milk instead of using a cream separator. However according to our
knowledge, there seems to be no industrial application of MF for this purpose yet.
Several studies have been carried out to use MF of 5μm to fractionate milk fat
globules based on their diameters. Yogurt and cheese made with smaller fat
globules may have finer structure and other advantageous properties.  Fat globules
in milk are surrounded by a thin film, which is called milk fat globule membrane
or MFGM, and this film is sensitive to mechanical impact and oxidation due to
high concentration of phospholipids which are rich in unsaturated fatty acid.
Therefore, application of MF to separate or fractionate milk fat globules need to
take into consideration of those factors.
Membrane separations for removal of microorganisms
Membrane CF MF offers an efficient alternative to heat treatment for removal of
bacteria from liquid food. Actually, removal of bacteria and spores from skim milk
is one of the most important applications of MF in dairy industry. This technique is
referred as cold pasteurization. Bactocatch process, developed by Alfa-Laval. and
the patent now owned by Tetra Laval, as a milder pasteurization method employs a
MF membrane of 1.4 μm, operated under UTMP condition. Typical operation
conditions are UTMP of less than 0.5 bar and very high CF velocities of 6-8 ms-
1. Bactocatch process isillustrated in Figure 7. First, cream is separated from milk
using a cream separator. This is needed to increase the VCR while maintaining
high permeate flux during the MF. The objective of the MF is to retain as much as
possible bacteria and spores while letting milk components pass through the
membrane. Common industrial permeate fluxes of MF in Bactocatch ranges from
500-800 L.h-1m-2, with VCR up to 20, proteins and total solids transmissions are
about 99 and 99.5%, respectively. The operation time reaches 10h before
membrane washing is needed. MF of skim milk with a 1.4 μm in the work of
Elwell et al. resulted in a 3.79 log reduction in total bacteria and a further reduction
of 1.84 log after the subsequent minimum pasteurization, leading to a total
reduction of 5.63 log. Based on total microbial counts, the shelf life of this micro-
filtered pasteurized milk when stored at 4.2 C was beyond 92 d but the real shelf
life was limited to 42 d due to proteolysis. This is still much longer than the shelf
life of normal pasteurized milk, which is about a week at refrigeration condition.

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High temperature, short-time (HTST) treated milk can last only up to 14 d due to
spoilage bacteria. Ultra-pasteurization can extend the shelf life to 45 under
refrigeration condition, however, this heat treatment already exert distinct cooked
flavor, which is not acceptable to part of consumers. The prominent advantage of
membrane filtration is that it can reduce bacteria to an accepted level while
maintaining not only the typical flavor but also higher nutrition value of milk (due
to less thermal impact). The other advantage of MF over thermal pasteurization is
that the former can remove effectively spore-forming bacteria while the latter is
aimed to destroy vegetative pathogens.

Figure 7 The ‘Bactocatch’ process for removal of organisms from milk, patented
by Alfa-Laval (Sweden). HTT, high-temperature treatment.
While the efficiency in removing total bacteria and spores is generally accepted,
MF alone does not completely retain pathogens. That is why an extra minimum
pasteurization after MF is needed in the Bactocatch process (Figure 7). Actually,
MF with smaller pore sizes can remove pathogens more efficiently however the
permeate flux and transmission of milk components is below the accepted levels.
Bactocatch or MF, in general, can be applied in production of consumption
(market) milk, preparation of milk for cheese production. and in removal of
bacteria for production of low-heat-treated milk powders. In production of semi
hard and hard cheeses like Gouda and Emmental, the incidence of ‘late-blowing’
defect (e.g., irregular eyes, slits, and cracks during ripening), caused by spore-
forming Clostridium tyrobutyricum, during ripening is quite high and this
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phenomenon causes considerable production loss. Severe heat-treatment causes
complexation between denatured whey proteins and caseins which affect
subsequent coagulation process and flavor of ripen cheeses. Applications of Tetra
Al cross Bactocatch system can, as claimed by the supplier, eliminate the risk of
late-blowing defect without the necessity to use antibacterial additive in cheese
production. Bacteria and fat removal from cheese brine for longer use is another
potential application of MF.
Fractionation of milk proteins for making cheeses, caseins and whey proteins
and for milk protein standardization
Conventionally, cheeses are made from pasteurized milk (or raw milk of high
quality for some special cheese products) by coagulating caseins using lactic acid
bacteria and/or rennet enzymes. The whey is drained out and the curd is cut and
washed. For manufacture of ripened cheeses, the curd is then molded, compressed,
submerged in a brine solution, and put into a ripening room under suitable
conditions in temperature and humidity for a period of time. In such a process,
most whey proteins (e.g., -lactoglobulin, -lactalbumin, BSA) are ‘lost’ to the whey.
MF membranes with pore size 0.1-0.2m can be used to fractionate skimmed milk
into
Retentate fraction enriched with micellar caseins and
Sterile permeate containing native whey proteins.
The casein fraction can be used for vatless (e.g., no need of tank for cutting and
washing the curd) production of semi-hard and hard cheeses or for production of
casein-enriched ingredients without using acids to precipitate caseins and then
other chemicals to neutralize the products. The volume of the retentate from the
MF is much lower than that of the original milk and that the production of cheese
from the retentate requires less quantity of rennet and additives, reduces total
production time, increases capacity of the plant. MF production of cheese also
allows flexible changing of the casein/whey protein ratio or the casein/fat ratio for
desired structural and sensorial properties of final products. The 0.1-0.2μm MF
permeate (microfiltrate), considered as sweet whey, contains the major whey
proteins in highly functional (undenatured) state. Compared to classic cheese
whey, the microfiltrate contains no rennet, bacteria, and starter culture, contains
extremely low lipid content (i.e., <0.01%) and is more consistent in composition
among production batches and different companies. This whey can be directly
(without the necessity of clarification steps as for the whey from normal cheese
63 | P a g e
making process) subjected to UF for manufacture of functionality-enhanced whey
protein concentrate (WPC) and whey proteins isolate (WPI). The obtained powders
have better oxidation stability due to a low concentration of lipids and has better
technological properties e.g., gelling and foaming properties.
UF can be used to standardize/concentrate milk for continuous production of
cheeses. Not like MF, UF retains both caseins and whey proteins and that it
increases cheese yield. It also reduces total processing time due to shorter
clotting/coagulation time and elimination of several processing steps (such as curd
cutting and whey drainage); and reduces the use of salt, starter culture, rennet and
calcium chloride. UF can be applied for production of cottage cheese, soft cheese
varieties, some hard cheeses like Cheddar and Parmesan; the types of cheeses in
which the presence of high concentrations of whey proteins does not create an
issue in term of sensorial properties. The need of reduced fat cheeses increases due
to the consumers’ awareness of health in relation to consumption of fat. With UF
of skim milk, the retaining of whey proteins could regain (partially) the lost yield
due to not using fat. Since long time, fat content is standardized in dairy industry.
This is simply done by separating fat globules using a cream separator (centrifuge)
and then reintroduced the cream back into the skimmed milk at desired
concentrations. UF offers a reliable mean to standardize protein content for making
of e.g., yogurt, cheese, ice cream and consumption milk without using thermal
evaporation which causes protein denaturation leading to potential alteration of
technological functionality and nutrition values and of the proteins. UF can be
applied to produce milk protein isolate, a product has both caseins and whey
proteins with the ratio similar to that in original milk but with low concentration of
lactose and fat. This is an alternative to a process called coprecipitation (applying
severe heat treatment to create interaction between caseins and whey proteins and
then pH is lowered to precipitate the protein mixture). Milk protein isolate finds its
applications in foods that require superior functionality such as confectionery and
bakery products, infant foods, meat products, soups and sauces, dry seasoning
blends, and cheese base for soft cheese making.
Treatment of whey for production of whey protein concentrate and whey
protein isolate
Major part of commercial WPC and WPI are still produced from classic cheese
whey. Classical cheese whey products contain, besides natural serum components
of milk, substantially varied concentrations of remnants derived from cheese
production process such as small fat globules, fragments of fat globule membranes,
64 | P a g e
rennet enzymes, starter bacteria, caseinomacropeptides (this is the molecular parts
of -casein molecules which are cut out from casein micelles by rennet). These
remnants need to be removed before making WPC and WPI. The step assigned for
this is called whey clarification and it is, traditionally, performed by pH adjustment
and/or salt addition followed by gravity settling or centrifugation. Such
clarification processes may not remove effectively phosphor lipoprotein complexes
and very small milk fat globules. The presence of high concentration of the
impurity affects adversely the functionality and storage stability of the whey
products. For example, the presence of high concentration of fat, especially
phospholipids, reduces the oxidation stability of the product as mentioned
previously. MF is a very good alternative to the traditional clarification step and
the former can be more advantageous not only because it retains fat more
effectively but also bacteria and that the microfiltered whey does not need an extra
pasteurization step, leading to higher quality of WPC or WPI. In conventional
production of WPC from cheese whey, thermal evaporation is performed to
increase solids content and then electrodialysis (ED) is applied to decrease mineral
content. Although the desalination efficiency of NF is lower than that of ED, it can
reduce salt content (monovalent salts like NaCl and KCl) while providing at the
same time a concentration effect and that thermal evaporation is not needed.
Integration applications of different membrane separation processes
From experimental results, Atra et al. proposed a procedure where two steps of UF
in combination with NF are employed to obtain a more economical cheese
production (Figure 8). In this process, the main target was to utilize whey. The first
UF employs membrane of 6-8 kDa MWCO. The retentate of the second UF is
introduced back into the cheese process, which can improve both the nutritional
and economic values. The permeate solutions of both UF processes can be fed to a
NF (400 Da MWCO) to concentrate lactose for sweet industry and the nana
filtrate, containing low concentrations of organic material, can be reused in the
production or for other purposes, representing a ‘‘cleaner” production. Targeting to
consumers having lactose intolerance, reduced-lactose dairy products are produced
using lactase, the enzyme which hydrolyzes lactose into glucose and galactose.
Vyas et al. developed and tested on a pilot scale of a process using two steps of UF
to produce a product called calcium fortified reduced lactose skim milk (Figure 9).
Permeate of the first UF is treated by an increase in pH and/or a mild heat
treatment to form and precipitate calcium complex which is then retained by the
second UF. The combination of both increase in pH and heat treatment resulted in

65 | P a g e
highest amount of calcium retained by the second UF. The retentate of this UF is
then combined with the retentate of the first UF to give a skim milk product which
is low in lactose and enriched with calcium). The second UF permeate can be used
as a feed of NF for concentration of lactose, as proposed in (Figure 8).51 UF offer a
very good opportunity to produce other low lactose dairy products such as milk
beverages and yogurts.

Figure 8 Proposed combination of UF and NF for a more economical cheese

production. F represents VCR.

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Figure 9 Flow diagram of the process for production of calcium fortified reduced
lactose skim milk.
Isolation of milk fat globule membrane materials
Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), the membrane surrounding the milk fat
globules, has received much attention recently due to the fact that it contains many
components with health-beneficial properties. This small fraction of milk consists
mostly of polar lipids, including phospholipids and sphigolipids, and specific-
membrane proteins. Under certain treatments during dairy processing, MFGM is
broken into fragments and these are distributed to aqueous streams. Therefore,
buttermilk, butter serum, and whey from cheese production contain substantial
amount of MFGM fragments. There are several possible ways to isolate these
fragments (Figure 10). Buttermilk and butter serum contain caseins micelles and
they should be dissociated into individual species (to be small enough to permeate
the filtering membrane) or precipitated to remove before MF or UF in combination
with DF can be applied to concentrate MFGM material. Considering the discussion
in section 0 and this section, MF of cheese whey can be a dual target process;
clarification and concentration of MFGM material. MFGM contains high

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concentration of polar lipids, which are amphiphilic molecules, so it can be used as
an emulsifying agent.This material is as well a potential ingredient to develop
functional food.
Wastewater treatment
The dairy industry is considered as one of the most polluting food industries in
term of water consumption and discharged volume of wastewater. Research on
applications of membrane separation processes for treatment of wastewater is very
active. NF applied to ultrafiltrate of whey has a twofold purpose; recovery of
lactose from the retentate and reduction on volume of wastewater required to be
treated at the plant since the nanofiltrate can be discharged directly into the sewer.
Permeate of a single RO or a NF + RO operation could be reused as heating,
cooling, cleaning and boiler feed water. Vourch et al. estimated that to treat 100
m3/d of wastewater from a dairy plant a 540 m 2RO unit is required and that the
water recovery could reach 95%. Purified water complying with drinking water
criteria could be achieved by a two-stage RO + RO process treatment of dairy
effluents.

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Figure 10 Various techniques and possible pathways for isolation of MFGM
material from dairy industrial by-products.
Conclusions and perspectives
Since the introduction of membrane technology into the food processing industry
about four decades back, the number of applications as well as the membrane
surface area is increasing very fast. Some of the reasons for this trend include:
Membrane separation processes can be used as alternatives to conventional
processing methods in a way that the formers assist more economic production and
better quality products in terms of both technological functionalities and nutrition
value.
Applications of membrane techniques can create products, ingredients with
favorable characteristics that conventional techniques are unable to offer.
Membrane separation processes are considered green technology due to their
higher efficiency in energy usage and the winging away from using chemicals and
additives, which is both better for environment and human health.
Membrane technologies create the possibilities to recover valuable components in
diluted effluents, by-products, and wastewater. These applications bring more
benefits to the producers.
Membrane separations are a very good technology for wastewater treatment,
especially permeated water from certain membrane filtrations can be reused in
production activities.
A more comprehensive understanding of membrane technology is continuously
acquired and from these, additional techniques for increasing membrane process
performance are being developed and optimized. Moreover, more and more
membrane producers and scientists are now in search for cheaper and simpler
methods of manufacturing membranes. All these factors are impetus in
accelerating and extending the scope of membrane applications in the food
industry.

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7 Conclusion
Membrane processes allow separation of solutes from one another or from solvent
with no phase change are interface mass transfers. There are many kinds of
membrane processes as discussed earlier. The classification of these methods is
based on the driving forces that cause transfer of solutes through the membrane.
The membrane technology is versatile and it can be used for purification of fruit
juices and concentration of milk.

THANK YOU !!

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