Chapter three - Application of membrane technology in functional food and nutraceutical industries

Food industry and engineering—Quo vadis?

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Membrane technology is a separation (filtration) process that can be used in different fields such as chemical, petrochemical, mineral, biotechnology, pharmacology, paper, food and water treatment. The usage area of membrane technology in the food industry accounts for between 20 and 30% of the total membrane production worldwide. Membrane technology has many features such as high selectivity, low energy consumption, modularity and easy scale-up and no phase change for food products. The main applications of membrane technology in the food industry are food microorganism removal; purification or water concentration; concentration or separation-purification of proteins, polypeptides, fats, sugars; oil treatment; and wastewater treatment. Reverse osmosis (RO), forward osmosis (FO), microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), electrodialysis (ED), membrane distillation (MD), pervaporation (PV) , and membrane bioreactor (MBR) are the main membrane technologies that are used in the food industry. These methods can be applied singly or by combination. The development of new membrane materials, new membrane configurations and membrane module design are becoming increasingly important in the food industry. In this chapter, the basic membrane techniques, their potential applications in a large number of fields and products towards the food industry, the main advantages and disadvantages of these methods, mechanism of membrane processes, the effects of process parameters on the quality characteristics of food, application of membrane technology in food industry are discussed.

Membrane technologies are of increasing importance in a variety of separation and purification applications involving liquid phases and gaseous mixtures. Although the most widely used applications at this time are in water treatment including desalination, there are many applications in chemical, food, healthcare, paper and petrochemical industries. This brief review is concerned with existing and emerging applications of various membrane technologies in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry. The goal of this review article is to identify important membrane processes and techniques which are being used or proposed to be used in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical operations. How novel membrane processes can be useful for delivery of crystalline/particulate drugs is also of interest. Membrane separation technologies are extensively used in downstream processes for bio-pharmaceutical separation and purification operations via microfiltration, ultrafiltration and diafiltration. Also the new technique of membrane chromatography allows efficient purification of monoclonal antibodies. Membrane filtration techniques of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration are being combined with bioreactors and advanced oxidation processes to treat wastewaters from pharmaceutical plants. Nanofiltration with organic solvent-stable membranes can implement solvent exchange and catalyst recovery during organic solvent-based drug synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds/intermediates. Membranes in the form of hollow fibers can be conveniently used to implement crystallization of pharmaceutical compounds. The novel crystallization methods of solid hollow fiber cooling crystallizer (SHFCC) and porous hollow fiber anti-solvent crystallization (PHFAC) are being developed to provide efficient methods for continuous production of polymer-coated drug crystals in the area of drug delivery. This brief review provides a general introduction to various applications of membrane technologies in the pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical industry with special emphasis on novel membrane techniques for pharmaceutical applications. The method of coating a drug particle with a polymer using the SHFCC method is stable and ready for scale-up for operation over an extended period.

Triangular relation of food processing, nutrition, and osteoarthritis: A solution for the management and prevention of osteoarthritis?

Purpose of the review: This article reviews current membrane technology in postharvest processing of fruits and vegetables and provides practical guidelines for selecting membrane technology for postharvest processing. An overview of the current state-of-the-art membrane technology in fruit and vegetable processing and a practical guideline for designing and scaling-up membrane systems are provided. Findings: Fruit juice clarification and concentration with membrane filtration dominate current application of membrane technology in postharvest processing; however, flavor compound retention and recovery by pervaporation and osmotic distillation has started gaining foothold in the industry. Other membrane-based concentration processes show a promising future. There is a strong interest in the food research community to utilize membrane technology to recover valuable food components from waste streams. Limitations/Implications: Wide acceptance of membrane technology in the food industry is not only limited by lack of “track record”, due to relative newness of the technology, but also limited by lack of suitable membrane systems or membrane materials. Many commercial membranes and modules are designed to accommodate the needs of water treatment comm.unities (for example desalination) although there is evidence that the manufacturers are heeding the call from the food processing and biopharmaceutical industries. There is also a tendency for some individuals and membrane suppliers to exaggerate what membrane technology can accomplish and, as a result, the food industry as a whole is wary of any new membrane process that appears on the scene. Directions for future research: Future research should focus on the fundamental study of membrane fouling, particularly on interactions among biopolymers, inorganic matters, and the membrane surface. Manufacturers should develop a food-oriented evaluation and assessment protocol for constructing membrane property data sheets and improve the reliability and renew-ability of their membranes. The food science community needs to actively involve in basic research on membrane separations, not just run-of-the-mill type of study on concentration of yet another new exotic fruit (or vegetable) juice with a well-studied commercial membrane.

Wastewater reuse is an essential constituent of sustainable water management globally. The pulp and paper industry causes substantial volumes of polluted wastewater per ton of paper and is also one of the largest consumers of fresh water per ton of paper production. As a result, these effluents should be efficiently treated to protect the environment, aquatic life and humans from intoxication. The kraft pulp and paper industry has encountered the challenge of reducing the discharge of conventional and toxic pollutants to the environment. The objective of this chapter is to evaluate the use of several membrane technologies (pressure-driven) to treat the discharged alkaline extraction bleaching effluents from kraft paper and pulp cellulose production units. The application of membrane technology in water and wastewater treatment is increasing due to stringent water quality standards. The membrane process has been classified into four broad categories depending on the membrane’s pore size: microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). This chapter briefly reviews the application of MF, UF, NF and RO for pulp and paper industry wastewater treatment, including fundamentals, mechanisms, fouling challenges and their controls. It also focuses on the application of pressure-driven ceramic membrane technology for the treatment of bleaching effluents from the kraft and pulp industry.

24 - Advances in membrane technology for the treatment and reuse of food processing wastewater

Technology offers sustainable nutrition solutions

The ‘daily bread’ for over six billion people today is largely derived from plant sources. The history of plant use reaches back uninterrupted to our earliest hominid ancestors. There is a long tradition of regarding the origins of agriculture (Hannery, 1973) as an important stage in the development of human society. Whilst acknowledging its significance, an equally profound revolution has passed unnoticed, this is the revolution in food processing and technology. The theme of the present paper is to discuss new ‘food technologies’ and the impact they have had, and are likely to have, on our society. Before we examine the ‘new’ food technologies, it

Why is it so difficult to recruit high-calibre graduates into careers in food science and technology? Don’t schools offer appropriate courses to prepare students to go on to study food science and technology in higher education? Are all the brightest scientists channelled off to study medicine? Does employment in the food industries still conjure up visions of endless production lines, monotonous shelf-stacking, wellies, hairnets and blue plasters? If so, what are the prospects for the future? Well, numbers of candidates gaining GCSE Food Technology qualifications in England and Wales have been rising steadily for a number of years. In the year 2000 alone, 106 650 pupils completed a GCSE course in Food Technology. In June 2000, the first cohort of students completed the A-level course being piloted by the EDEXCEL examination group, and now three of the regional examination groups (AQA, EDEXCEL and WJEC) are offering fully fledged AS- and A-level courses in Food Technology. The first cohort of students also completed the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s new Advanced Higher course in Home Economics in summer 2001. There has never been such a rich pool of potential undergraduates, ideally placed to springboard into higher education and on to a range of challenging careers based on food science and technology. So, why are higher education institutions reporting that it is difficult to fill their courses? It seems ironic that, at the same time, graduates are virtually guaranteed employment on successful completion of their courses. Indeed, some colleges have experienced difficulty persuading students to return from industrial placements to complete their studies. Companies have snapped up good employees at the first opportunity. In addition, the allure of a regular income, along with the possibility of lifelong learning, can prove most attractive to young people (and their parents) struggling to pay back student loans. This edition of the Nutrition Bulletin includes Caroline Griffin’s top tips on personal and professional development gained from her student placement in Nestlé’s Specialist Nutrition Department (pp. 223–225). Dr Janet Bennoson provides an employer’s perspective of student placements, which she recommends as ‘an invaluable experience’ to both students and employers. Dr Frankie Robinson’s conference report on European Consumer Day (pp. 247–250) cites an opportunity bravely grasped by trainee teachers from England, Scotland and Wales to enthuse and inspire an invited (and generally older) audience with exciting ideas for teaching primary school children the basics of food safety. Roy Ballam’s review of The Science of Cooking (pp. 264–5) highlights a valuable resource for students and teachers, written with the author’s express intention of inspiring young people to consider careers in food science and technology. Clearly, there are plenty of people willing and able to inspire others to adopt a positive and forward looking approach to careers in food-related industries, and even to act as role models. Perhaps the time has come to cast modesty aside, and be more proactive in ensuring that young, and not so young, potential employees have easily accessible, accurate and attractive information about courses and jobs available to them. While it seems that a soap opera on TV is one sure way of making some jobs ‘sexy’ (just think of the number who wanted to become lawyers while LA Law was showing), the internet perhaps provides a cheaper and more appropriate medium. Science year begins in September 2001, and we are thinking of adding a new section to the Foundation’s website http:www.nutrition.org.uk/scienceyear.htm to provide thumbnail sketches of a wide range of people working in areas related to food science and technology. Would you be willing to contribute some biographical information and a fetching photograph? Access the site at the address given above for details. Here is your chance to make a small effort that could have a big impact, particularly on the students and teachers we most need to reach.