Applications of Membrane Technology in the Food Industry - An approach to reduce food processing costs and to improve food quality

Over the last two decades, the global market for membrane technology in the food industry increased to a market volume of about € 800 - 850 million and is now the second biggest industrial market for membranes after water and wastewater treatment including desalination. The key membrane technologies in the food industry are the pressure driven membrane processes microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO). The success of membrane technology in the food and beverage market is directly linked to some of the key advantages of membrane processes over conventional separation technologies. Among these ad¬vantages are:• Gentle product treatment due to moderate temperature changes during processing. • High selectivity based on unique separation mechanisms compared with e.g. sieving, solution-diffusion or ion exchange mechanism.• Compact and modular design for ease of installation and extension. • Lower energy consumption compared to condensers and evaporators.In the first part of the presentation will provide an overview of the key membrane technologies in the food industry – MF, UF, NF and RO. The second part of the presentation will look on selected applications of membrane processes in the food industry taking into account food processing costs and food quality