Concentration of Carrot Juice using Osmotic Membrane Distillation Process

This study was undertaken in order to evaluate the potential of the osmotic distillation (OD) process for concentration of carrot juice on laboratory scale. The performance of the OD process in terms of flux and concentration factor was evaluated. Carrot juice with an initial TSS (Total Soluble Solid) content of 7o Brix was concentrated up to values of 30oBrix using a osmotic distillation membrane contactor with PTFE flat sheet membranes. Aqueous solution of calcium chloride dehydrate at 50 w/w% was used as stripping solution producing an initial evaporation flux of about 10 kg/m2 h. The experimental data showed that at low total soluble solids concentration the evaporation flux decay was more attributable to the dilution of the stripping solution, while at high TSS value of feed, the evaporation flux depended mainly on juice viscosity and consequently, on juice concentration.

Keywords:

Osmotic membrane distillation (OD) , Carrot juice , Concentration , PTFE membrane