MEMBRANE SEPARATION

MEMBRANE APPLICATION

Membrane solved the problem of the primary product obtained by fruit pressing or fermentation contains a large amount of soluble plant colloids, plant proteins, plant polysaccharides, plant fibers, yeast autolysates, etc., traditional diatomaceous earth, frame filter, freezing, sedimentation only remove the visible precipitate impurities, and during the long-term storage or weather change, the dissolved impurities re-precipitate, and the product appear turbid , lose gloss (poor transmittance), secondary fermentation, and secondary precipitation, that affect the taste, the perception, and degrade the product quality.

Description of Membrane 

  • what is membrane separation technology ?
  • Membrane separation technology: Using a artificial synthetic membrane as a separating medium, using the external pressure difference as a driving force, using a cross-flow cycle operation process, selectively separating specific organic or inorganic substances in the solution through the membrane, and through low molecules and water, trapped polymers, the separation of polymers and low molecular substances. The portion trapped by the membrane became a concentrated liquid, and the portion through the membrane becomes a permeate.
  • Classify of membrane and performance:
  • The membrane is classified into reverse osmosis membrane (RO), nanofiltration membrane (NF), ultrafiltration membrane (UF), microfiltration membrane (MF). The reverse osmosis membrane (RO) is capable of retaining inorganic salt ions and organic substances larger than ions, and permeating water; the nanofiltration membrane (NF) can retain divalent ions and small molecules and other substances larger than the molecular’s molecules weight, and permeate water and monatomic ion; The ultrafiltration membrane (UF) is capable of retaining macromolecules and substances larger than its molecular weight, permeating water, ions and small molecules; the microfiltration membrane (MF) is capable of retaining macromolecular groups, insoluble particles, suspended matter, bacteria and etc., through the solution.

Membrane Separation Technology in the Production Process of Beverage, Fruit Vinegar and Fruit Wine

Membrane separation technology, on the basis of with the characteristics of material, including the effective flavor substances, molecular of components and impurities, molecular structure, product temperature, product concentration, viscosity and etc.,to select separation membranes with different pore sizes and structures with different operating parameters. Based on the selective screening principle of the membrane, the macromolecular impurities are trapped, the active ingredients and flavor substances in the product are transmitted, improve the product quality.

Process flow below:

Pressing/fermentation → initial filtration → pre-treatment → membrane filtration → potting → sterilization → finished products

       The membrane technology provide following advantages:

  1. The production capacity can be designed and manufactured according to the production capacity, shorten production cycle;
  2. Filtration consumables have long service life and low operating cost;
  3. Molecular filtration, high precision, can effectively remove impurities such as macromolecular proteins, colloids, fibers, etc., to maintain product stability;
  4. Safeguarding filtration, improving and ensuring product quality;
  5. The equipment occupies a small area, automatic control, simple and easy to control;
  6. The separation membrane adopts the cross-flow filtration method, which is not easy to block and the filtration speed is slowed down;
  7. Membrane separation component, easy to clean and regenerate, easy to maintain, long service life.

Membrane separation technology combined with traditional process to prepare instant tea powder

The tea leaves are extracted at low temperature, and the tea soup is pretreated to remove some solid impurities (the common filtration method is plate frame filtration/centrifugation, etc.), permeate is sterilized by the sterilization filtration system at room temperature, and the clarification liquid passes through the membrane low temperature concentration system. Concentrate the active ingredients while removing excess water and concentrate the tea into the freeze-dried powder.

 

Extract tea soup→centrifugation/plate frame (pretreatment)→sterilization filtration system→membrane concentration system→freeze drying

Advantage of membrane concentration system:

  • It can effectively remove tea polyphenols, caffeine and other ingredients to achieve the purpose of concentration; because the film has a high interception rate for tea polyphenols, pigments, polysaccharides, etc., the concentrated permeate water is clear and translucent, and can be used for extraction and reuse. Save water resources and reduce sewage discharge.
  • Membrane concentration is a low temperature, concentrated at room temperature, which can save a lot of steam, reduce energy consumption and reduce production costs. Under low temperature conditions, the loss of decomposition of the active ingredient due to high temperature can be reduced, and the product yield can be guaranteed.
  • There is no pollutant emission during the membrane process, which reduces the pressure of wastewater discharge and reduces the investment in waste water treatment.
  • High automation, using PLC plus frequency converter control, simple and convenient operation, online cleaning, saving labor, clean production.
  • Variable frequency control to save power consumption.
  • The membrane components are imported components, with complete operation, cleaning and maintenance instructions and methods. They have a long service life and do not need to be replaced frequently.