2 - Preparation of nanomaterials for food applications using membrane emulsification and membrane mixing

Abstract

Membrane processes have a major place in the food processing industry, for example, microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis. Other membrane processes, such as membrane emulsification and membrane mixing, are increasingly reported for the preparation of nanomaterials, such as nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, liposomes, and so on. In this chapter, it is shown that these two membrane processes could be used successfully in the food processing industry. In a typical crossflow emulsification technique, the dispersed phase, which may be oil or water, flows under pressure through the membrane pores. Droplets grow at pore openings until they detach in the continuous phase, which may be oil or water when having reached a certain size. In a membrane mixing reactor, one reactant solution permeates through the micropores of an ultrafiltration or microfiltration membrane into another solution, resulting in a decrease in characteristic diffusion time and therefore improvement of micromixing. For both processes, the principles and the possible applications in the food processing industry are described.