Investigation of UF and MF Membrane Residual Fouling in Full-Scale Dairy Production Using FT-IR to Quantify Protein and Fat

Abstract This study investigates the distribution of residual fouling in used spiral wound ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) membrane cartridges. Residual fouling on four full-scale production UF membrane cartridges and two full-scale MF membrane cartridges were investigated with infrared spectroscopy inspecting fat and protein deposits. A non-homogenous distribution of residual fouling was observed with concentrations highest at the center tube decreasing away from the feed side. Analysis of variance was used to evaluate significant factors affecting the model. The observed tendencies can be explained by flow and pressure differences caused by design aspects of spirally wound membrane cartridge and the steel housing. Variations between individual sheets from the same cartridges were observed, suggesting a role from manufacturing variability in residual fouling after cleaning-in-place. This paper describes a new method for mapping fouling proposing a semi-quantifiable description. This description might guide membrane developers and users to optimize cleaning methods in the future.

[1]  F. V. D. van den Berg,et al.  Investigation of Consecutive Fouling and Cleaning Cycles of Ultrafiltration Membranes Used for Whey Processing , 2014 .

[2]  Morten Arendt Rasmussen,et al.  Moving from recipe-driven to measurement-based cleaning procedures: Monitoring the Cleaning-In-Place process of whey filtration units by ultraviolet spectroscopy and chemometrics , 2014 .

[3]  W. J. Lewis,et al.  Workshop on membrane fouling and monitoring: a summary , 2013 .

[4]  D. Mercer.  “Cleaning-in-place: Dairy, food and beverage operations”, third edition , 2010 .

[5]  M. Nyström,et al.  Amido black staining of ultrafiltration membranes fouled with BSA , 2007 .

[6]  Bernard Chaufer,et al.  Ageing of PES industrial spiral-wound membranes in acid whey ultrafiltration , 2006 .

[7]  R. V. D. Sman,et al.  Membrane fractionation of milk: state of the art and challenges , 2004 .

[8]  David F. Fletcher,et al.  Spiral wound modules and spacers - Review and analysis , 2004 .

[9]  Lindsay Sawyer,et al.  Invited Review: β-Lactoglobulin: Binding Properties, Structure, and Function , 2004 .

[10]  P. K. Nair,et al.  Polyethersulfone foils as stable transparent substrates for conductive copper sulfide thin film coatings , 2001 .

[11]  V. Chen,et al.  The effects of electrolyte concentration and pH on protein aggregation and deposition: critical flux and constant flux membrane filtration , 2001 .

[12]  M. Nyström,et al.  Cleaning results characterized by flux, streaming potential and FTIR measurements , 1998 .

[13]  Johanna Smeyers-Verbeke,et al.  Handbook of Chemometrics and Qualimetrics: Part A , 1997 .

[14]  Gösta Bylund,et al.  Dairy Processing Handbook , 2015 .

[15]  J. M. Arnal,et al.  Membrane Cleaning , 2012 .

[16]  A. Y Tamime,et al.  Cleaning-in place : dairy, food and beverage operations , 2008 .

[17]  G. Daufin,et al.  Physico-chemical aspects of membrane fouling by dairy fluids , 1995 .