Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
DESALINATION
Abstract
Whey is a by-product of cheese production which is used mainly as animal feed or released into the wastewater
treatment process, although it is rich in valuable components. Recent developments in membrane filtration have
provided exciting new opportunities for large-scale protein and lactose fractionation. The aim of this research was to
develop a complex membrane filtration technology for whey processing. The microfiltration and ultrafiltration
processes were carried out with pilot-scale equipment. For these filtration procedures three modules-- hollow-fibre,
ceramic and spiral wound-- were used. The permeates from micro- and ultrafittmtion (MF and UF), and the original
whey sample were filtered on nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) equipment. After the measurements new
methods for using whey were proposed. With this complex method cheese production can be redesigned to a more
environmentally friendly and efficient process. All membrane filtration methods were used to find the potential
applications of membrane systems for whey recycling and utilization.
Presented at the PERMEA 2003, Membrane Science and Technology Conference of Visegrad Countries (Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland and SIovakia), September 7-11, 2003, Tatranskd Matliare, Slovakia.
0011-9164/04/$- See front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
PII: s0011-9164(04)00052-9
280 A. Rektor, G. Vatai / Desalination 162 (2004) 279-286
Table 2
Characteristics of the modules
Table 3 Table 5
Nanofiltration module characteristics Concentration of the components/ceramic multi-robe
~ 60
i180.................................................................................
_~ 7 0
S 0
40
........... ~ ......................... e .....................
30 '°"
lS . . . . . . .
0 ~ o 2 4 6 8 lo 12 ]4 16 I~
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 T i m e [nfm]
Transmembrane pressure [bar]
Fig. 2. Effect of recycle flow rate on permeate flux in Fig. 3. Permeate flux of whey in a function of time on the
whey microfiltration on a ceramic multi-tube module. hollow-fibre module.
7O
x~UF pc*nn.,3(I bar l~S0"C m4tl"C A30;C I
s0 AMF l~in., 30 bar 60
u MF perm., 25 bar
e Whey 30 bar
so 50
~30
20 , ,_.__._._._ 2O
lO
2 3 4 5 6 7 Z 3 4 5 6 7 8
VCII VCR
value. As the recirculation flow rate also had a were examined on a RA 75 Millipore NF
great influence on the permeate flux, concen- membrane considering the permeate flux, and the
tration was carried out at the highest flow rate lactose and salt content o f the permeate and
(3000 L/h) and pressure (2 bar). The results o f the retentate.
concentration are shown in Fig. 3. The operating parameters were constant
The permeate flux decreased with time, which during the procedure: the transmembrane pres-
was due to the higher concentration o f the sure was 30 bar, the recirculation flow rate was
retentate. This decline decreased until no change 200 L/h and the operating temperature 40°C.
occurred at 23 L/mZh. At the beginning of the Fig. 4 shows the results where the flux o f
procedure the flux was higher, but by the time a permeates and whey can be seen in a function of
gel layer was formed on the surface of the volume concentration reduction (VCR).
membrane, there was a steady-state flux o f the The measurements at constant operating con-
permeate. ditions show the differences o f the filtration
characteristics in the case o f different samples.
The highest flux was determined in the UF
3. 3. N a n o f i l t r a t i o n
permeate and the lowest in the original whey
The permeates from MF and UF and the sample. The UF permeate contained less protein
original whey sample were filtered on Millipore and lactose and had no fat content. NF showed
NF equipment. The effect o f operating conditions the same gel layer formation on the membrane
284 A. Rektor, G. Vatai / Desalination 162 (2004) 279-286
Therefore, the higher the VCR is, the lower the VCR
effect on the flux. The determination of this VCR Fig. 6. Whey and permeate fluxes as a function of VCR
value is important due to energy utilization which in reverse osmosis concentration process.
can be decreased and the lifetime of the pumps
increased. There was less change in the permeate flux
The concentration of MF permeates was during the concentration of the NF (MF) sample.
carried out at three different temperatures to The flux was nearly the same at the beginning of
obtain the optimal temperature value for concen- the concentration, even at a VCR of 2. During
tration and to examine the role of temperature this procedure, no polarization gel layer was
during the filtration procedure. The experiment formed as the sample contained no fat or protein
took place at the same transmembrane pressure of and lactose content was low as well. The
30 bar and a recirculation flow rate of 200 L/h. differences with VCR increase in the permeate
The effect of temperature is shown in Fig. 5. The flux can be observed better in the samples from
higher the temperature, the higher the permeate UF and MF. Surprisingly, at the same VCR the
flux. differences in flux of the whey and MF permeate
Transmembrane pressure had the same effect. were lower than in the case of MF and UF
Both parameters resulted in permeate flux, but in permeates.
the case of temperature, as the VCR increased, In conclusion, during the RO process, the fat
the differences in permeate fluxes decreased. As content had a lower influence on the flux decline
a result of the experiment, one can state that than the protein and lactose content. Conse-
higher VCRtemperatures should be decreased to quently, fat globules had a lower influence on
spare energy. membrane fouling than the smaller components.
In summary, we can say that the NF procedure
is to be done at higher temperatures, but this can
be affected by the heat resistance of the samples. 4. Conclusions
Energy consumption has to be taken into con-
sideration when choosing the maximum recom- On the basis of laboratory and pilot plant
mended temperature of the membrane. membrane filtration experiments with mozzarella
whey, three alternative treatment lines can be
proposed. The alternatives differ in the separation
3. 4. Reverse osmosis
efficiency of the valuable whey components and
The effect of the pre-treatment of the samples complexity of the proposed treatment technology.
on the permeate flux was examined during the The alternatives are shown in Fig. 7.
RO concentration process. Fig. 6 shows the whey In all alternatives, the first step is defatting
and permeate fluxes as a function of VCR. and sterilisation of the whey by MF. The
A. Rektor, G. Vatai / Desalination 162 (2004) 279-286 285
Who ~
i,,~ ~ ~',~
~ e~ 'L
separated fat can be pasteurised by conventional This concentrate can be recycled in the line o f
techniques and used as raw material for butter cheese making so the economical efficiency
production. should be improved. The end filtrate has small
Line 1: NF is used for the concentration o f the COD and BOI values so it can be discharged
microfiltered whey. The produced concentrate is directly to sewers or used for irrigation.
a perfect raw material for ice-cream production.
This solution should be suitable for small- and
middle-sized dairies because the modular type of References
membrane filtration enables its adaptation for a
certain capacity o f the dairy, and investment costs [1] J.G. Zadow, Whey production and utilization in
are commensurate with the built-in membrane Oceania in trends in whey itilization, IDF Bull., 212
(1987) 6.
surface [21].
[2] J.L. Maubois, New applications of membrane tech-
Line 2: In this line there are two membrane
nology inthe dairy industry, Aust. J. Dairy Tectmol.,
filtration separation steps after MF: the UF step 46(11) (1991) 91-95.
with high rejection o f proteins partially combined [3] I. Pafylias, M. Cheryan, M.A. Mehaia and N.
with diafiltration, which can be used for the Saglam, Microfiltration of miLk with ceramic
production of whey protein concentrate. The membranes,Food Res. Internat., 29 (1996) 141-146.
permeate o f UF concentrated by NF and com- [4] O. A1-Akoum,L.H. Ding and M.Y. Jaffrin, Micro-
bined with crystallization as proposed by filtration and ultrafiltration of UHT skim milk with
Kiammel [19] results in lactose that is good for a vibrating membranemodule, Sep. Purif. Technol.,
the pharmaceutical industry. This line can be 28 (2002) 219-234.
profitable for middle-sized and large factories [5] G. Gesan, U. Merin, G. Dauf'm and J.J. Maugas,
because the two-stage process needs more basic Performance of an industrial cross-flow micro-
filtrationplant for clarifyingrennet whey, Neth. Milk
materials and the costs o f investment and opera-
Dairy J., 47 (1993) 121.
tion are higher.
[6] K.F. Eckner and A. Zottola, Potential for the low
Line 3: This complex membrane separation temperature pasteurization of dairy fluids using
method would be the best solution for small membrane processing, J. Food Prot., 54 (1991)
factories. Using RO, all components of the 793-797.
defatted and sterilized whey can be concentrated. [7] R.J. Pearce, S.C. Marshall and J.A. Dunkerley,
286 A. Rektor, G. Vatai / Desalination 162 (2004) 279-286
Reduction of lipids in whey protein concentrates by [15] A.G. Gregory, Desalination of sweet-type whey salt
microfiltration: effect of fimctional properties, Int. drippings for whey, in trends in whey utilization, IDF
Dairy Fed., 9201 (1991) 118. Bull., 212 (1987) 91.
[8] M. Huffman, Processing whey protein for use as a [16] N. Qureshi and G.J. Manderson, Bioconversion of
feed ingradient, Food Technol., 50 (1996) 49-52. renewable resources into ethanol: an economic
[9] A.R. DaCosta, A.G. Fane and D.E. Wiley, Ultra- evaluation of selected hydrolysis, fermentation and
filtration of whey protein solutions in spacer-filled membrane technologies, Energy Sources, 17 (1995)
flat channels, J. Membr. Sci., 76 (1993) 245-254. 241-265.
[10] R.K. Mehra and W.J. Donnelly, Fractiouation of [ 17] G. Del Re, G. DiGiacomo, L. Aloisio and M. Terreri,
whey protein components through a large pore size, RO treatment of waste waters from the dairy
hydrophilic, cellulosic membrane, J. Dairy Res., 60 industry, Desalination, 119 (1998) 205-206.
(1993) 89-97. [18] B. Balannec, G. G6san-Guiziou, B. Chaufer,
[11] H.C. van der Horst, J.M.K. Timmer, T. Robbersten M. Rabiller-Baudry and G. Daufm, Treatment of
and J. Leenders, Use of nanofiltration for concentra- dairy process waters by membrane operations for
tion and demineralization in the dairy industry: water reuse and milk constituents concentration,
Model for mass transport, J. Membr. Sci., 104 (1995) Desalination, 147 (2002) 89-94.
205. [19] R. K0mmel and J. Robert, Application of membrane
[12] A. Balint and M.R. Okos, Computer aided design in processes in food technologies, in: K. B61afi-Bak6,
whey processing, Periodiea Plytechnica, Chem. L. Gubicza and M. Mulder, eds., Integration of
Engng., 39 (1995) 119-128. Membrane Processes into Bioconversions, Kluwer
[13] H.S. Alkhatim, M.I. Aleaiua, E. Soriano and M.I. Academic/Plenum, New York, 2000.
Iborra and J. Areal, Treatment of whey effluents [20] M. Cheryan, Ultrafiltration and Microfiltration
from dairy industries by nanofiltration membranes, Hand-book, Technomic, Lancaster, PA, 1998.
Desali-rmtion, 119 (1998) 177-183. [21] Hidrofilt Ltd., Personal communications, Nagy-
[14] P.M. Kelly, B.S. Horton and H. Burling, Partial kanizsa, Hungary, 2003.
demineralisation of whey by nanofiltration, Int.
Dairy Fed. Annual Sessions, Tokyo, 1991, p. 87.