On the Use of Ultrafiltration or Microfiltration Polymeric Spiral-Wound Membranes for Cheesemilk Standardization: Impact on Process Efficiency.

Julien Chamberland,Yves Pouliot,Scott Benoit,Dany Mercier-Bouchard,Michel Britten,Alain Doyen,Iris Dussault-Chouinard

doi:10.3390/foods8060198

Julien Chamberland, Yves Pouliot + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8060198

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Abstract

Ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) are widely-used technologies to standardize the protein content of cheesemilk. Our previous work demonstrated that protein retention of a 0.1-µm MF spiral-wound membrane (SWM) was lower, but close to that of a 10 kDa UF one. Considering that the permeability of MF membranes is expected to be higher than that of UF ones, it was hypothesized that the former could improve the efficiency of the cheesemaking process. Consequently, the objectives of this work were to compare 0.1-µm MF and 10 kDa UF spiral-wound membranes in terms of (1) hydraulic and separation performance, (2) energy consumption and fouling behavior, (3) cheesemaking efficiency of retentates enriched with cream, and (4) economic performance in virtual cheesemaking plants. This study confirmed the benefits of using MF spiral-wound membranes to reduce the specific energy consumption of the filtration process (lower hydraulic resistance and higher membrane permeability) and to enhance the technological performance of the cheesemaking process (higher vat yield, and protein and fat recoveries). However, considering the higher serum protein retention of the UF membrane and the low price of electricity in Canada, the UF scenario remained more profitable. It only becomes more efficient to substitute the 10 kDa UF SWM by the 0.1-μm MF when energy costs are substantially higher.

Highlights

Dairy products can be manufactured through many processing itineraries, but the most eco-efficient has to be selected to improve the competitiveness of the industry
Three transmembrane pressure (TMP) were tested in the total recirculation mode for MF and UF of skim milk at 50 ◦ C
Even though previous works confirmed the high serum proteins (SP) retention coefficient value of MF spiral-wound membrane (SWM) [13,23], notably in comparison with ceramic ones [14], that of the 10 kDa UF SWM was significantly higher in this study (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Dairy products can be manufactured through many processing itineraries, but the most eco-efficient (i.e., having the lowest environmental impact and provides higher incomes) has to be selected to improve the competitiveness of the industry. Ultrafiltration (UF) is a widely used membrane technology. It allows to concentrate all the milk proteins, notably caseins (CN) and serum proteins (SP), whereas lactose and minerals are collected in the permeate [3,4]. It leads to improved coagulation properties [5,6,7] and increases cheese yield through a higher retention of milk components in the curd [3,6,8].

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