Membrane filtration technology and its application in foodindustry

Membrane processes are very important with advantages such as reduced energy consumption, mass transferand high efficiency and ease of use. In membrane processes, different components are separated from eachother due to the sieving mechanism, barrier transfer through the narrow pores of the membrane, and otherinteractions between the components and membrane materials (such as surface absorption and electrichobbing interaction). In a membrane separation system, a fluid with two or more components is placed incontact with a membrane that allows certain components of the fluid (water in the fluid) to pass through itmore easily than other components. The physical and chemical nature of the membrane (pore size and poresize distribution) affects liquid separation. Filtration is the separation of materials based on their differentphysical and chemical qualities. By definition, filtration is an operation used to separate insoluble solids fromliquids. Physical removal of microorganisms by filtration can be used to recover the solid discontinuousphase (cells) for production, e.g., concentrate starters, or to remove the continuous phase of microbialparticles (air filtration, microbial filtration, surface filtration).