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We supply membranes and modules for many applications in
Milk processing and Cheese production,
concentrating, fractionating and separating milk components.
ULTRAFILTRATION OF MILK
The ultrafiltration retain macromolecules (proteins, fat globules, polysaccharides, etc.)
while portions of lactose, water and ash pass through the membrane as permeate.
Ultrafiltered milk can be used to produce dairy-based foods and beverages
that are higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates than their traditional counterparts.
UF milk is also useful in formulating reduced- or no-lactose dairy products
for consumers who are limiting lactose intake.
Milk Protein Standardization and Fractionation
UF and MF milk fractionated components can be used to standardize the nutritional value of consumer milk
or to prepare standardized milk powders, overcoming natural variations in milk composition.
Increasing the protein content by ultrafiltration makes the milk whiter,
and more viscous, the sensory quality more similar to that of higher fat milks.
An MF/UF process can be used to fractionate non-fat milk into value-added protein ingredients.
Resulting ingredients include native casein concentrates (from the retentate),
pure milk serum proteins (from the permeate) and individual milk protein isolates
that have application as emulsifiers, fortifying proteins and gelling agents.
Fermented Dairy Products
UF can be used to standardize protein and total solids in milk for use in fermented dairy foods
such as cream cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese.
Fermented products made with UF milk have superior quality and sensory characteristics
compared to products made from milk concentrated by conventional methods.
Membrane filtration helps control quality attributes such as consistency,
post-processing acidification and extent of syneresis.
However, using membrane-processed milk often requires an adjustment
in starter culture selection and fermentation conditions.
Cheesemaking
The cheese industry was one of the first to explore
the possibilities of using membrane concentrated milk to
elevate the solids level of cheesemilk. Future applications
for membrane processing may include the manufacture of
fresh, soft, hard and semi-hard cheese varieties.
UF concentrated milk, with its fat and protein content
concentrated to 3.5X, and a portion of the lactose, ash
and water removed, possesses the ideal composition for the
potential manufacture of fresh cheeses like ricotta or brine
cheeses like Feta.
Replacing 10-15% of the cheesemilk volume with UF
milk creates the opportunity to boost total solids, therefore
increasing cheese throughput in factory by as much as
18%— subsequently reducing production costs. Using
concentrated milk could also reduce rennet and starter
culture requirements, depending on the application. In
addition, using UF milk could reduce a cheese plant’s
wastewater processing costs.
Because the UF permeate contains solids (primarily lactose),
processors may choose to install an RO unit to concentrate
the permeate solids. The solids have application in the food
processing and animal feed industries. The permeate stream
from the RO process can be simply routed to the drain, or it
can be polished by a separate RO unit and used at the plant
for virtually everything except drinking or final rinse water.
Using this polished water also reduces the plant’s water costs.
Membrane processes in cheesemaking may not be
limited to the concentration of cheesemilk. MF can
yield a casein-enriched cheesemilk that would be ideal
for semi-hard cheeses like Cheddar. This presents new
possibilities in controlling the development of textural
and sensory attributes.
Four basic types of membrane filtration present potential applications
for the dairy industry:
reverse osmosis (RO),
nanofiltration (NF),
ultrafiltration (UF) and
microfiltration (MF)
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