Application of Membrane Technology in Foods and Natural Products

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 8510

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Interests: membrane technology in food application; functional components in natural products

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Guest Editor
College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Interests: membrane technology in foods, agricultural products and biotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Membrane technology has been widely applied in the area of foods and natural products, in processes such as clarification, separation, and concentration with microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, etc., as well as preservation with films and packages. Within these applications, submissions to this Special Issue may focus on process, fouling, food characteristics, membrane properties, etc.

This Special Issue aims to gather original research articles and reviews on recent advances in membrane technology as well as their application in foods and natural products. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Foods and natural products processing;
  • Waste recovery in food and natural product industry;
  • Foods and natural products wastewater treatment;
  • Membrane process enhancement in foods and natural products;
  • Films for food packaging;
  • Membrane fabrication for foods and natural products.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Ming Cai
Prof. Dr. Zhenyu Li
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • food processing
  • separation of natural components
  • fouling
  • process enhancement
  • optimization and modeling
  • films for foods
  • food package

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 13980 KiB  
Article
Enrichment of Nutmeg Essential Oil from Oil-in-Water Emulsions with PAN-Based Membranes
by Huilan Yin, Haoyu Zhang, Jiaoyang Cui, Qianlian Wu, Linlin Huang, Jiaoyue Qiu, Xin Zhang, Yanyu Xiang, Bo Li, Hongbo Liu, Zhishu Tang, Yue Zhang and Huaxu Zhu
Membranes 2024, 14(5), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes14050097 - 25 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1071
Abstract
This study used polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and heat-treated polyacrylonitrile (H-PAN) membranes to enrich nutmeg essential oils, which have more complex compositions compared with common oils. The oil rejection rate of the H-PAN membrane was higher than that of the PAN membrane for different oil [...] Read more.
This study used polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and heat-treated polyacrylonitrile (H-PAN) membranes to enrich nutmeg essential oils, which have more complex compositions compared with common oils. The oil rejection rate of the H-PAN membrane was higher than that of the PAN membrane for different oil concentrations of nutmeg essential oil-in-water emulsions. After heat treatment, the H-PAN membrane showed a smaller pore size, narrower pore size distribution, a rougher surface, higher hydrophilicity, and higher oleophobicity. According to the GC-MS results, the similarities of the essential oils enriched by the PAN and H-PAN membranes to those obtained by steam distillation (SD) were 0.988 and 0.990, respectively. In addition, these two membranes also exhibited higher essential oil rejection for Bupleuri Radix, Magnolia Officinalis Cortex, Caryophylli Flos, and Cinnamomi Cortex essential oil-in-water emulsions. This work could provide a reference for membrane technology for the non-destructive separation of oil with complex components from oil-in-water emulsions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Membrane Technology in Foods and Natural Products)
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13 pages, 2962 KiB  
Article
High-Antimicrobial Gallium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films on Bio-Based Poly(Ethylene Furanoate) Substrates for Food Packaging Application
by Chaoting Zhu, Danling Ye, Tianqi Zhou, Yashuang Cui and Jianbing Yin
Membranes 2023, 13(2), 239; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes13020239 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2100
Abstract
Thin films of gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO), with a thickness of around fifty nanometers were deposited on bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) substrates by radio-frequency sputtering. By optimizing the Ga concentration in the target, the optics, water vapor barrier and antibacterial properties of PEF/GZO [...] Read more.
Thin films of gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO), with a thickness of around fifty nanometers were deposited on bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) substrates by radio-frequency sputtering. By optimizing the Ga concentration in the target, the optics, water vapor barrier and antibacterial properties of PEF/GZO composite films can be adjusted. The highest visible light transmittance of the samples was around 85.1%. Furthermore, by introducing some GZO films with typical concentrations, the water vapor barrier and antibacterial properties of PEF films were improved. The optimized water vapor permeability of PEF/GZO composite film was 5.3 × 10−12 g·m/m2·s·Pa, and the highest antibacterial rate can reach 99.85% after 4 h. By XPS analysis, the antibacterial mechanism in the samples is envisaged to be mainly due cytotoxicity of Ga ions. The above results indicate that PEF/GZO films have great potential in the field of antibacterial food packaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Membrane Technology in Foods and Natural Products)
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15 pages, 3152 KiB  
Article
Separation of Bioproducts through the Integration of Cyanobacterial Metabolism and Membrane Filtration: Facilitating Cyanobacteria’s Industrial Application
by Fei Hao, Xinyi Li, Jiameng Wang, Ruoyue Li, Liyan Zou, Kai Wang, Fuqing Chen, Feixiong Shi, Hui Yang, Wen Wang and Miao Tian
Membranes 2022, 12(10), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12100963 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2176
Abstract
In this work, we propose the development of an efficient, economical, automated, and sustainable method for separating bioproducts from culture medium via the integration of a sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria production process and pressure-driven membrane filtration technology. Firstly, we constructed sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria with a sucrose [...] Read more.
In this work, we propose the development of an efficient, economical, automated, and sustainable method for separating bioproducts from culture medium via the integration of a sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria production process and pressure-driven membrane filtration technology. Firstly, we constructed sucrose-secreting cyanobacteria with a sucrose yield of 600–700 mg/L sucrose after 7 days of salt stress, and the produced sucrose could be fully separated from the cyanobacteria cultures through an efficient and automated membrane filtration process. To determine whether this new method is also economical and sustainable, the relationship between membrane species, operating pressure, and the growth status of four cyanobacterial species was systematically investigated. The results revealed that all four cyanobacterial species could continue to grow after UF filtration. The field emission scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicate that the cyanobacteria did not cause severe destruction to the membrane surface structure. The good cell viability and intact membrane surface observed after filtration indicated that this innovative cyanobacteria–membrane system is economical and sustainable. This work pioneered the use of membrane separation to achieve the in situ separation of cyanobacterial culture and target products, laying the foundation for the industrialization of cyanobacterial bioproducts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Membrane Technology in Foods and Natural Products)
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12 pages, 2272 KiB  
Article
Athermal Concentration of Blueberry Juice by Forward Osmosis: Food Additives as Draw Solution
by Haoqi Chu, Zhihan Zhang, Huazhao Zhong, Kai Yang, Peilong Sun, Xiaojun Liao and Ming Cai
Membranes 2022, 12(8), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12080808 - 21 Aug 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2098
Abstract
This study is to evaluate the athermal forward osmosis (FO) concentration process of blueberry juice using food additives as a draw solution (DS). The effects of food additives, including citric acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate, on the concentration processes are studied, and [...] Read more.
This study is to evaluate the athermal forward osmosis (FO) concentration process of blueberry juice using food additives as a draw solution (DS). The effects of food additives, including citric acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate, on the concentration processes are studied, and their effects on the products and membranes are compared. Results show that all these three food additives can be alternative DSs in concentration, among which citric acid shows the best performance. The total anthocyanin content (TAC) of blueberry juice concentrated by citric acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate were 752.56 ± 29.04, 716.10 ± 30.80, and 735.31 ± 24.92 mg·L1, respectively, increased by 25.5%, 17.8%, and 19.9%. Meanwhile, the total phenolic content (TPC) increased by 21.0%, 10.6%, and 16.6%, respectively. Citric acid, sodium benzoate, and potassium sorbate all might reverse into the concentrated juice in amounts of 3.083 ± 0.477, 1.497 ± 0.008, and 0.869 ± 0.003 g/kg, respectively. These reversed food additives can make the TPC and TAC in juice steadier during its concentration and storage. Accordingly, food additives can be an excellent choice for DSs in the FO concentration process of juices, not only improving the concentration efficiency but also increasing the stability of blueberry juice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Membrane Technology in Foods and Natural Products)
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