Beverage Processing

Abstract
Ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) systems used in the beverage industry are all designed to obtain very high yields of the (valuable) permeate. This chapter examines two different applications: the use of UF for the production of clear apple juice and the use of MF for the production of cold-filtered beer. It also examines the use of MF for sterile filtration of the rough beer supernatant. There is a variety of polymeric membranes available for beer microfiltration. The design of a dead-ended microfiltration system is considerably different from that of a cross-flow system. The membrane polymer and module materials must also be resistant to solutions used for cleaning and disinfection. One of the important factors governing the overall performance of the tubular UF system is the actual arrangement of the individual tubes. The choice of the proper membrane pore size is critical for the effective application of ultrafiltration in apple juice processing.