IBMEM - Industrial Biotech Membranes Max-Planck-Str. 16, 61381 Friedrichsdorf (Frankfurt/Main), Germany Tel. +49 (0)6172 137-132      E-Mail: info@ibmem.com

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We supply membranes and modules for many applications in Milk processing and Cheese production, concentrating, fractionating and separating milk components. MEMBRANE FILTRATION OF MILK The dairy industry is using the membrane technology since its beginning to concentrate and fractionate whey, as well as treat wastewater. More recently, researchers began using membranes to concentrate milk for use in the production of dairy foods including cheese, ice cream mix and yogurt. Technological advancements in membrane materials, process engineering and functionality of milk constituents have made membrane separation processes practical and useful at nearly every stage of milk treatment. Four basic types of membrane filtration present potential applications for the dairy industry: reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) RO processing concentrates milk by removing water. The other membrane separation processes (UF and MF) fractionate milk into various components. They can be used to standardize the nutritional value of consumer milk or to prepare standardized milk powders, overcoming natural variations in milk composition. Some application processes involve only a single membrane ; advanced approaches are using two or more membrane processes in a given application. On-going research is aimed at standardizing milk, enhancing functional properties of milk proteins, fractionating caseins and whey proteins, and improving the microbial quality of milk. These processes will be able to improve the quality of existing dairy foods, speed the development of new products, and enhance process efficiency and profitability.