Optimization of Spiral-Wound Microfiltration Process Parameters for the Production of Micellar Casein Concentrate

Abstract

A systematic selection of different transmembrane pressures (TMP) and levels of diafiltration (DF) was studied to optimize these critical process parameters during the manufacturing of micellar casein concentrate (MCC) using spiral-wound polymeric membrane filtration. Three TMPs (34.5, 62.1, and 103.4 kPa) and four DF levels (0, 70, 100, and 150%) were applied in the study. The effect of the TMP and DF level on flux rates, serum protein (SP) removal, the casein-to-total-protein ratio, the casein-to-true-protein ratio, and the rejection of casein and SP were evaluated. At all transmembrane pressures, the overall flux increased with increases in the DF level. The impact of DF on the overall flux was more pronounced at lower pressures than at higher pressures. With controlled DF, the instantaneous flux was maintained within 80% of the initial flux for the entire process run. The combination of 34.5 kPa and a DF level of 150% resulted in 81.45% SP removal, and a casein-to-true-protein ratio of 0.96. SP removal data from the lab-scale experiments were fitted into a mathematical model using DF levels and the square of TMPs as factors. The model developed in this study could predict SP removal within 90–95% of actual SP removal achieved from the pilot plant experiments.

The effect of soluble soybean polysaccharide addition to permeate concentrate on lactose crystallisation, growth and recovery during lactose manufacturing

“…Additionally, milk permeate is another lactose-rich co-product generated while manufacturing milk protein concentrate (MPC) and milk protein isolate (MPI). Newer products such as micellar casein concentrate manufactured using microfiltration also produce permeate rich in lactose (Marella et al 2021;Hammam et al 2022). Therefore, suboptimal utilisation of these co-products may limit the growth of mentioned high-protein dairy products and ingredients.…”

“…Newer products such as micellar casein concentrate manufactured using microfiltration also produce permeate rich in lactose (Marella et al . 2021; Hammam et al . 2022).…”

Production and storage stability of concentrated micellar casein

“…Micellar casein concentrate has been manufactured from skim milk using different MF membranes, such as polymeric spiral-wound (SW) membranes (Govindasamy-Lucey et al, 2007;Lawrence et al, 2008;Zulewska et al, 2009;Beckman et al, 2010;Beckman and Barbano, 2013;Hammam et al, 2021;Marella et al, 2021) or ceramic membranes, including uniform transmembrane pressure (UTP) and graded permeability (GP) membranes (Zulewska et al, 2009;Barbano, 2013, 2016;Zulewska and Barbano, 2014;Hammam and Metzger, 2018). The SW membranes are less expensive and have lower operating costs but have limited viscosity range, low chemical stability, and shorter life compared with ceramic membranes (Zulewska et al, 2009;Hammam et al, 2021).…”

Skimmed Milk Microfiltration in Diafiltration Mode: Impact of Solvent Nature and Concentration Factor on Spiral-Wound Membrane Performance Operated at Low Temperature

“…Diafiltration mode with water is the most used mode in dairy industry. It has already been investigated with ceramic membranes [30] and SW membranes at high temperature (~50 • C) [19] and ambiant temperature (~24 • C) [18]. These studies carried out batch and intermittent DF (consisting in succession of dilutions and concentrations) with ROW during MF at 50 • C and CF 3 [30,19] or at 24 • C and CF 4 [18].…”

“…It has already been investigated with ceramic membranes [30] and SW membranes at high temperature (~50 • C) [19] and ambiant temperature (~24 • C) [18]. These studies carried out batch and intermittent DF (consisting in succession of dilutions and concentrations) with ROW during MF at 50 • C and CF 3 [30,19] or at 24 • C and CF 4 [18]. They confirmed the increase of permeation flux during DF with ROW as previously observed by Ng et al (2008) when operating ROW DF with ultrafiltration polymeric membranes.…”