Ceramic Membranes: Ensuring Safety for Your Food and Drink!

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in the Dairy Industry

The application of ceramic membranes in the dairy industry mainly focuses on microfiltration for degreasing milk, removing bacteria, separating fat from milk, recovering lactalbumin, concentrating casein, and treating washing wastewater.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in the Preparation and Concentration of Protein

Proteins are natural macromolecules with molecular weights ranging from tens of thousands to millions. Ultrafiltration membranes with a specific molecular weight cut-off can effectively retain proteins while allowing small molecules to pass through. Many researchers have applied ceramic membrane ultrafiltration in the processing and preparation of soybean protein. The general process is as follows: defatted soybean meal → slurry extraction → vacuum extraction → ultrafiltration concentration → neutralization → spray drying → finished product.

The retention rate of proteins by the membrane is as high as 95%, and the protein recovery rate after concentration reaches 93.9%, which is significantly higher than the acid precipitation method.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in Juice Clarification

Juices often contain many suspended solids and bacteria, pectin, and coarse proteins that cause spoilage, which affect both the appearance and shelf life of the juice. Clarification is a key step in juice beverage production. Traditional processing methods are complex, with high flavor and nutrient loss, high costs, and high energy consumption. Organic membranes can also impair the color and taste of the juice. However, ceramic membrane technology not only achieves higher permeation flux and retention rates but also reduces protein adsorption on the membrane surface and minimizes membrane fouling. Therefore, it is widely used in the juice beverage industry.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in Decontamination and Sterilization of Wine and Other Fermented Liquids

Ceramic membranes have a long history of application in filtering and sterilizing wines and fermented liquids. The filtration flux for white wine can reach 50-250L/(m²·h), while for red wine it is only 50-100L/(m²·h). In beer production, using a ceramic membrane with a pore size of 0.5μm results in a color retention rate of only 3%, significant loss of foaming protein, and a sterilization rate of 100%. Wang Huanzhang and others conducted research on the application of ceramic membranes in the sterilization of glutamic acid fermentation broth. The results showed that by using ceramic membrane technology, the processes of sterilization, washing, and concentration were achieved continuously. The sterilization rate was greater than 99.98%, the concentration factor reached 25 times, and the average membrane flux was greater than 80L/(m²·h). When the amount of water added reached 0.1 times the fermentation broth, the glutamic acid yield could reach 99.7%.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in Soy Sauce Production

Ceramic membrane technology can separate out sediments, cloudy materials, and bacteria produced during the soy sauce production process, thus achieving the purpose of purifying soy sauce. This technology is widely used in soy sauce purification, with very promising development prospects.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in Vinegar Production

Ceramic membrane technology plays a significant role in vinegar sterilization and swelling, improving the clarity and taste of vinegar. Overall, ceramic membrane technology has important applications in vinegar production, effectively solving the issues of sterilization and swelling in vinegar, with significant practical applications.

The Application of Ceramic Membrane Technology in MSG and Tea Beverages

Studies have shown that ceramic membrane technology has an obvious effect on the decontamination and sterilization of molasses MSG; tea beverage particles and suspended impurities, as well as the purity and transmittance, have all been improved through ceramic membrane technology treatment. In comparison with traditional methods, ceramic membrane technology has significant advantages.