Potential application of UF PSA membrane in degumming of crude canola oil

Membrane processing of edible oils is one of the most modern separation techniques in the non aqueous phase systems. Reduction of energy costs, oil quality and waste disposal are major concerns for many oil refiners who are looking for alternative methods to improve conventional refining, and during the last decade, energy efficient membrane separation technology has evolved dramatically. Membranes can be used in many areas of the vegetable oil industry. The aim of this work was to study the removal of phospholipids from canola oil miscella by using a cross-flow PSA UF membrane with MWCO 20 kDa in a pilot-plant scale. Hexane/canola oil micella in 25% (w/w) was used as a feed and under different process parameters which include pressure 1.5 and 2 bar, temperature 30, 40 50 ˚c and time intervals 15 and 30 minutes was passed through the membrane. The effects of operating conditions on membrane effectiveness such as permeate flux; membrane resistance and fouling as well as percent of phospholipids rejection were studied. The results showed that removal of impurities, particularly phospholipids was so considerable and its rejection was about 96%, although the permeate flux due to membrane fouling was little.

Keywords:

canola oil , degumming , membrane resistance , polysulfone amide membrane , fouling