Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis in Dairy Technology: a Review
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801 Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 54, No. 10, Pages 801-809 (October 1991) Copyright© International Association of Milk, Food and Environmental Sanitarians Ultrafiltration and Reverse Osmosis in Dairy Technology: A Review FATHY E. EL-GAZZAR and ELMER H. MARTH* Department of Food Science and The Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/54/10/801/1661973/0362-028x-54_10_801.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 (Received for publication January 11, 1991) ABSTRACT no higher than 35°C. These conditions impose limitations on cleaning procedures that can be used industrially. Be Ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis processes can be useful in cause of these limitations cellulose acetate has now been the dairy foods industry. When milk is processed, milk fat and superseded by other polymers more tolerant to pH and casein are rejected fully (e.g., are in retentate) and thus are temperature. Polyamides were used for some time since concentrated by ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membranes. they are better able to handle higher temperatures and a Lactic cultures are slow to reduce the pH of retentate because of wider pH range than is cellulose acetate. Polysulfones, its increased buffering capacity since concentrated calcium phos which are now frequently used, are a better alternative phate and proteins are present. Conditions for growth of patho genic microorganisms and inhibition of such bacteria in ultrafiltered because they have excellent hydrogen-bonding capabilities milk differ from those of unfiltered milk. The principal advantage and are very strong and rigid when wet. They can tolerate of using ultrafiltered milk for conversion into such cheeses as temperatures up to 100°C and pH values from 1-14. Cheddar, cottage, Havarti, Feta, brick, Colby, and Domiati is an Polysulfone membranes also are more resistant to chlorine increase in yield of product. Additional benefits claimed for use than is cellulose acetate. of ultrafiltered milk in cheese making include reduction in costs Glover (22) also stated that membrane structure may of energy, equipment, and labor; improved consistency of cheese be of three types, (a) The structure is asymmetric when the flavor; and possible production of new byproducts. membrane is of the same material throughout, but has a thin tight skin on the surface on the feed side so that the skin is the effective ultrafiltration layer. The more open and ULTRAFILTRATION: INTRODUCTION AND thicker sublayers serve as a support for the skin. Asymmet DEFINITION ric membranes are currently most widely used for ultrafil tration. (b) The structure is symmetrical when the material Ultrafiltration is a sieving process that employs a is identical throughout the membrane; such membranes are membrane with definite pores that are large enough to used for experimental purposes, (c) Composite asymmetric permit the passage of water and small molecules. When membranes are composed of two different materials, the pressure is applied to a fluid, the semipermeable membrane thin layer of polymer to serve as the filtering membrane, allows small species to pass through as permeate and larger and the second is a layer of another porous material. An species are retained and concentrated as retentate. In ultra asymmetric membrane has a total thickness up to 100 ^m, filtration of milk, nonprotein nitrogen and soluble compo 20-100 ^m for the thick supporting layer and 0.1-1 ^m for nents such as lactose, salts, and some vitamins pass through the tight thin layer, which has pores 2-20 nm in diameter. the membrane, whereas milk fat, protein, and insoluble Geometrically, membranes are tubular, flat, or spirally salts are retained by the membrane (22,57). wound. The tubular membrane is easily cleaned since there The ultrafiltration membrane is the most important part are no dead spaces. However, it has some disadvantages of any ultrafiltration system. Glover (22) indicated that the such as high hold-up volume per unit of membrane area, two most important characteristics that any membrane and equipment occupies a large amount of space per unit of material should have are (a) ability to hydrogen bond to membrane area. Flat or spirally wound membranes have a water thus enabling water to enter the membrane and (b) low hold-up volume per unit of membrane area and equip high wet strength. ment occupies a small amount of space per unit of mem There are several polymers which can be used to brane area. The spiral system consumes less energy for produce membranes. The first to be used was a polymer of pumping than do tubular systems. Flat or spirally wound cellulose acetate. Faults were found with this material, membranes are difficult to clean if badly fouled. Another however, because it is intolerant to chlorine and can only version of the tubular system has membrane tubes less than be used over a limited pH range of 3-7 and at a temperature 1 mm in diameter, which are known as hollow fibers rather JOURNAL OF FOOD PROTECTION, VOL. 54, OCTOBER 1991 802 EL-GAZZAR AND MARTH than tubes. The hollow fiber design has low capital costs, ultrafiltration potentially can reduce by up to 80% the provides an excellent membrane area per volume, and quantity of coagulant commonly used to prepare a given membrane replacement is easy. However, it does not readily weight of cheese. This results in decreased processing costs lend itself to processing suspensions as particulate matter for the cheese maker. The reduction in amount of coagulant can foul or block the fibers. needed also can help alleviate the worldwide shortage of Ultrafiltration of milk before cheesemaking was first natural calf rennet, although regulatory approval and com proposed by Maubois et al. (47). Advantages claimed for mercial introduction of chymosin produced biotech- ultrafiltration technology in cheese manufacturing are in nologically minimizes this benefit of ultrafiltration. the following areas: (a) Yield: The principal advantage of Moreover, making cheese from ultrafiltered milk can the process is an increase in yield of cheese. This increase be controlled automatically and then avoids many of the results from retention in the cheese of proteins which are manipulations of traditional cheesemaking technology; re not coagulated by rennet, i.e., the so-called soluble proteins duction in labor costs also can be expected. As with making (whey or serum proteins) of milk (45). Maubois et al. (48) cheese from unfiltered milk, the process can be made found when cheese is made traditionally, 77 of 100 g of continuous by use of appropriate equipment for ultrafiltra tion of milk and coagulating, molding, and salting of curd. nitrogenous substances from milk remain in soft ripened Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-pdf/54/10/801/1661973/0362-028x-54_10_801.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 cheese and 83 of 100 g in soft fresh cheese (67). The (d) Pollution: The ultrafiltrate (new whey or permeate) difference (23 or 17 g) represents a mixture of protein and contains virtually no proteins or milk fat and thus its nonprotein nitrogenous substances which passes into whey biological oxygen demand is only 80% of that of traditional during conventional cheesemaking. whey. Furthermore, permeate has a pH identical to that of During ultrafiltration, only the nonprotein nitrogen milk, 6.5 to 6.7. Permeate can be collected under aseptic passes through the membrane (about 5% of the nitrogenous conditions, and thus initially contains no or few microor substances of the milk). All the milk proteins, whether they ganisms. Although uses for permeate may be limited, it are casein or whey proteins, remain in the retentate, in the should be easier to process than traditional whey. Some liquid precheese, and finally in cheese, since drainage of suggested uses of permeate derived from ultrafiltered (UF) whey after coagulating the retentate is completely or nearly milk are given in Table 1. completely eliminated. Thus, of 100 g of nitrogenous sub Another benefit claimed for use of UF milk in stances in milk, 94 to 95 g remain in the cheese. This cheesemaking is the reduction in amount of space needed suggests an increase in the yield of cheese from milk of for equipment and handling of cheese. Many cheeses such about 16 to 20%. as Mozzarella, Cheddar, Havarti, cottage, brick, Colby and (b) Composition: After suitable adjustment of the com cheese base have been produced either commercially or position of precheese (milk fat, total solids), the resulting experimentally from milk retentate (7,12,18,43,58). cheese will contain the quantities of dry matter and milk fat needed to comply with existing regulations. The safety COMPOSITION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RETEN margin (weight of curd/mold) the cheese maker must allow, TATE DERIVED FROM ULTRAFILTERED MILK as compared to use of the traditional technique, is consid erably reduced, and this suggests an important saving of Milk fat raw material. This is particularly true for soft types of Milk fat is entirely retained in the concentrate pro cheese such as Camembert. duced by the ultrafiltration membrane. Some of the in (c) Rennet or other coagulant used: Because there is crease in yield of cheese made from UF milk results from essentially no drainage of whey, virtually all the coagulant greater retention of fat in curd than in curd made from added to liquid precheese remains in the cheese. Thus, unfiltered milk. This is particularly true for cheeses which traditionally are made with a homogenization step, such as blue cheese, since homogenized milk fat cannot be easily TABLE 1. Suggested uses for permeate from ultrafiltered skim recovered (40). Partial homogenization of milk fat globules milk of whey". in retentate is reported to result from mechanical action and Use Product Processing required not the concentration process (24, 25).