Flux pattern and fouling of membranes during ultrafiltration of some dairy products

Abstract

Abstract The flux pattern of milk (whole milk, skimmed milk and buttermilk) showed a distinct contrast to whey (sweet whey and acid casein whey) systems during ultrafiltration (UF) at constant composition. For milk systems, the initial flux was lower than for whey systems, but the flux stabilised within a few minutes of operation. However, for both acid and sweet whey, the flux continued to fall with time for nearly 1 h. The fouling coefficient (FC) for buttermilk was 0.6 after 5 min, rising to 0.68 after 60 min. During this time flux did not decline, suggesting that concentration polarisation (CP), rather than fouling, was controlling the flux rate. In contrast, the FC for whey was 0.5 after 5 min with a progressive rise over the next 55 min, but the flux also fell throughout this period suggesting that flux was controlled by fouling rather than CP. The higher concentration of protein in milk systems appeared to be responsible for CP, rather than fouling, being the controlling mechanism.