Low-Fouling Plate-and-Frame Ultrafiltration for Juice Clarification: Part 1—Membrane Preparation and Characterization

Membrane technology provides advantages for separating and purifying food materials, including juice clarification. Ultrafiltration processes for fruit juices aim to remove haze components and maintain the stabilization of the juices. However, the membrane process during the clarification of fruit juices suffers from fouling, which deteriorates the process performance and products. Biofouling usually is found in the applications of the membrane in food processing. In this study, phenolic substances extracted from garlic bulbs are incorporated into a matrix of polymeric membranes to prevent fouling during juice clarification. Hydrophilic cellulose acetate was used as the polymer matrix of the membrane, and dimethylformamide was used as the solvent. The phenolic substances from garlic bulbs were incorporated into polymer solutions with different concentrations of 0%, 1%, 1.25%, and 1.5% w/v. The composite membrane was prepared using the phase inversion method, and the resulting membranes were later characterized. The results show that incorporating those phenolic compounds as the dope solution additive resulted in membranes with higher hydrophilic properties. They also modeled antibacterial properties, as shown by the reduced attachment of Bacillus subtilis of up to 91.5 ± 11.7% and Escherichia coli of up to 94.0 ± 11.9%.