1. Tomato juice microfiltration process assisted with pressure-vacuum combination condition: A physicochemical investigation and optimization
- Author
-
Behnam Alaei, Mohammad Ali Zolfigol, and Reza Amiri Chayjan
- Subjects
Materials science ,Microfiltration ,Vacuum pressure ,Soil Science ,Lycopene ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,Control and Systems Engineering ,Scientific method ,Permeate flux ,Fluid temperature ,Food science ,Total energy ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,Food Science ,Fluid pressure - Abstract
In this study, the simultaneous effect of fluid pressure, vacuum pressure, and fluid temperature in the microfiltration process of tomato juice was investigated. For this purpose, a microfiltration device with a ceramic filter under pressure-vacuum combination was developed. Next, the effects of the device variables were investigated and optimised in the tomato juice microfiltration process. The results showed the statistically significant effects of fluid pressure, vacuum pressure, and fluid temperature on permeate flux response and total energy consumption. Also, they showed the effects of fluid pressure and fluid temperature on the response variables of lycopene and vitamin C content of tomato juice microfiltration. The optimal conditions of the microfiltration process of tomato juice were achieved at a fluid pressure of 200 kPa, the vacuum pressure of 5 kPa, and fluid temperature of 26 °C with a desirability index of 0.967. Under the optimal conditions, values of response variables including permeate flux, total energy consumption, lycopene, and vitamin C content of tomato juice filter were 215.09 × 10−6m3m−2s−1, 0.044 kWh, 2.42 mg100 g−1, and 13.21 mg 100 g−1, respectively. Overall, this type of tomato juice microfiltration, in addition to preserving the valuable nutrients of tomato juice, can cause high permeate flux and low process energy consumption.
- Published
- 2021