Innovative cleaning protocols for the dairy industry

Industrial dairy membrane processes require frequent cleaning due to hygienic and regulatory demands and lowered efficiency, caused by fouling. This decreases the membrane life cycle and consumes large volumes of rinsing water and cleaning solution. Therefore, the aim of this project is to increase the understanding of membrane fouling and cleaning and to apply this knowledge to develop more energy efficient cleaning protocols for the dairy industry. Initially, ultrafiltration and microfiltration experiments using sweet whey and skim milk as reference dairy process streams will be conducted to investigate the effects of fouling and cleaning on membrane flux and energy consumption. Both fouling on the membrane surface and inside the membrane structure will be studied using techniques like ATR-FTIR, SAXS and tomography to map the structure and composition of the membrane fouling. Furthermore, these experiments will be supported by advanced analysis techniques, such as ellipsometry, confocal microscopy and SEM-EDS to study the membranes before and after different subsequent cleaning steps. Data on membrane fouling and cleaning will be integrated into mathematical models to predict membrane fouling and cleaning behaviours. These models will be used to develop and optimize new cleaning protocols with the goal to reduce the energy, water and chemical consumption. Overall, this approach will improve the sustainability of dairy membrane processing and increase fundamental knowledge and understanding of membrane fouling and cleaning mechanisms.