Membrane Fouling Mechanism in Dairy Industry

2. International Food Chemistry Congress, Antalya, Turkey, 16 - 19 March 2023, pp.22, (Summary Text)

Membrane filtration techniques (microfiltration,

ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis) have been

used to remove bacteria and spores from milk, to condense

milk or whey, and to separate protein fractions in the dairy

industry1. The main membrane performance indicators are

flux and selectivity2. The higher the flux, the better the

performance, during membrane filtration3. The flux and

selectivity properties in filtration could be related to fouling

mechanisms4. The first rapid flux decline in a few minutes of

processing is generally ascribed to concentration

polarization5. It is described as the increased solute

concentration near the membrane surface leads a severe

increase in osmotic pressure and thus reducing the effective

transmembrane pressure and flux3. Fouling happens when

molecules or aggregates from the feed solution accumulate on

the surface or inside the membrane pores, progressively

plugging them and impediment filtration6. Proteins and

minerals are the main compounds responsible for membrane

fouling in the dairy industry4. Fouling is a complex system

and is affected by operating parameters (concentration, pH

and ionic strength of the feed solution, temperature,

transmembrane pressure etc.), protein properties (structure,

size, aggregation properties etc.) and membrane properties

(pore size, surface charge etc.)6. In this study, we have

focused on the effect of various parameters on membrane

fouling.