Concentrating orange juice through CO2 clathrate hydrate technology

Abstract

A novel separation process was developed for orange juice concentration via CO2 hydrate formation. The CO2 hydrate equilibrium conditions were measured by an isochoric pressure search method. The effects of feed pressure, temperature, juice volume, and stirring speed on dehydration ratio were investigated. The dehydration ratio increased with increasing the feed pressure; the maximum dehydration ratio of 57.2% was reached at feed pressure of 4.10MPa; dehydration ratio maintained around 45.8% in the temperature range of 274.8–279.8K; the optimum orange juice volume is 80mL. The CO2 hydrate formation rate constants increased from 0.67×10−8 to 1.91×10−8mol2/(sJ) in relation to the feed pressure increasing from 1.96 to 4.10MPa. The results demonstrated that removal of water by formation of CO2 hydrate is an efficient technology for orange juice concentration.