Analysis of fouling and juice quality in crossflow ultrafiltration of watermelon juice

Abstract

Raw watermelon juice was clarified in a laboratory scale flat plate ultrafiltration system incorporating polyethersulphone membranes with a molecular weight cut-off of 50 kDa. The experiments have been carried out over a wide range of trans -membrane pressures (1-3 bar). The effect of ultrafiltration with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 50 kDa PES membrane on permeate properties is reported. The effects of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) on permeate flux and resistances were studied. The flux decay was analyzed through the resistance in series model which showed increase of both reversible and irreversible resistance with trans-membrane pressure, The TSS content of the permeate was found to be almost the same with feed while the ascorbic acid content in the permeate was on the lower side as compared to in feed.