Articles

Wasteless Membrane Technology of the Whey Processing

Authors:

Tikhonov S.L., Lazarev V.A., Muratov A.A.

Abstract:

The research considers main approaches to the problem of the secondary resources reprocessing of the milk industry in the terms of whey generated in great volume while curd and cheese producing. The paper aim is to determine main process behavior issues of the whey processing by the baromembrane methods, to determine characteristics of the ultrafiltration separation and reverse osmosis concentration of the curd and cheese whey on the basis of the experimental data. As the science paper object the fresh curd and cheese whey satisfied the National State Standard of the RF 53438 – 2009 was used. The research results of the whey ultrafiltration separation and reverse osmosis concentration processes in the laboratory conditions of the Ural State University of Economics and in the production conditions of the Peasant farm enterprise Anikeva A.V. (Polevskoy city) on the devices capable to perform in a tangential mode equipped by modules with flat and cylindrical ceramic UV elements characterized by a molecular weight cutoffs in 10; 30; 50; 100; 150 kDa. The author’s solution of the whey ultrafiltration without its preliminary preparation on the ceramic membranes KUFE-19 (0.01), produced by the LTD «Keramikfiltr» (Moscow) are revealed. The UF process is established to be effective while the macromolecular substances concentration of whey values at C = 8% at flow speed u ≥ 1,5 m/s, pressure P = 0.3 MPa, temperature t = 20±5 °C with using ceramic membranes KUFE-19 (0.01). The GS concentration process is determined to be effective at temperature t = 20 ± 5°C, the operating pressure P = 2.0−2.4 MPa for the concentration of C = 5−15%; DM and P = 3.8−5.0 MPa for the concentration C = 15−22 % using membranes MHA-80P, while the whey desalted by 20 %. The technological scheme of the wasteless whey is developed: the volume of the prime cheese whey is 5,0 m3/h, proteins concentration is 7,1 mg/l, lactose concentration – 49,3 mg/l, UV membranes selection of the crude protein – 0,975, GS membranes selection by lactose – 0,985, draft rate of the permeate on the UV stage – 90 %, on the GS stage – 75 %

Keywords:

milk processing; membrane technology; whey; ultrafiltration; reverse osmosis