Review on Membrane Technology Applications in Food and Dairy Processing

Abstract

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: Introduction Theory of membrane separationsPressure-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 [1]. 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...

Development and Characterization of Polyamide-Supported Chitosan Nanocomposite Membranes for Hydrophilic Pervaporation

“…Their main advantage is the fact that they are environmentally friendly, highly efficient and simultaneously characterized by low energy consumption [1]. Membrane separation techniques possess a wide spectrum of application in different areas e.g., food and beverage processing (separation, recovery of byproducts, purification) [2,3], hydrometallurgy (control of the pollution, metal ions recovery) [4,5], pulp and paper industry (recovery of chemicals, replacing evaporation process) [6] or chemical process industries (separation of organic solvents, gases, recovery of chemicals) [1,7,8]. The medical and pharmaceutical sector is also a broad consumer of different membrane techniques, including controlled release systems, blood fractionation or artificial kidney [9,10].…”

Application of Membrane Filtration to Cold Sterilization of Drinks and Establishment of Aseptic Workshop

“…Microfiltration using a membrane with a pore size of 1.4 µm in diameter can reduce 5.63 log microorganisms and greatly extend the shelf life of skim milk while protein transmission is as high as ca. 99% (Dhineshkumar & Ramasamy, 2017 ; Elwell & Barbano, 2006 ).…”

“…Application of microfiltration or ultrafiltration to cold sterilization of drinks on an industrial scale has been extensively studied and applied in practice (de Oliveira et al, 2012 ; Dhineshkumar & Ramasamy, 2017 ; Karmakar & De, 2017 ). The schematic diagram of cold sterilization or pasteurization based on microfiltration or ultrafiltration is summarized in Fig.…”

Applications of Ultrafiltration, Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration, and Microfiltration in Dairy and Food Industry

“…Confectionary and bakery products do not have considerable direct applications of membrane technology. But as we know, Whey protein isolate (WPI), whey protein concentrate (WPC) and milk protein concentrate (MPC) are added then and there for better nutrition quality in cakes, biscuits, confectionary sweets etc, membrane processes are the most helping process in making WPI, WPC and MPC (Dhineshkumar and Ramasamy, 2017).…”