Ultrafiltration membrane for
cold sterilization of bottle gourd juice (Lagenaria
siceraria) for extended shelf life and method thereof (724/KOL/2014)
A polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
based hollow fibre membrane for clarification of tender coconut water with
desired storage stability (768/KOL/2014)
Patent: 724/KOL/2014
- Brief description:
In
this work, an appropriate characterization of the hollow fiber membranes has
been identified that has application in clarification of bottle gourd (Lagenaria
siceraria) juice with long shelf life. 44 kDa molecular weight cut
off membrane (MWCO) was found suitable for this purpose. A membrane based on
polysulfone (PSF) was formulated to achieve this goal. The clarification
process removed the sites of potent bacterial growth. Thus, this process
increases the shelf life of bottle gourd juice significantly without adding any
preservative after aseptic packaging. Also, since there is no thermal
sterilization, browning of the bottle gourd juice does not occur. The final
product from ultrafiltration is rich in polyphenol (anti-oxidant), sugar, potassium
and sodium. The process is very economic, since the hollow fibers used are
indigenous and very low cost (Indian patent 582/KOL/2011). The final product can be stored for 8 weeks under
refrigerated condition without deterioration of the taste or aroma of the
product.
- Commercial
aspects of the technology & Industries benefiting from it
Generally,
processed bottle gourd juice is produced in very small scale over the world.
Shelf life of the untreated bottle gourd juice is very less, about 1 to 2 days.
Usually, the shelf life of the bottle gourd juice is increased by hot
sterilization, commonly known as pasteurization. But, this process deteriorates
the juice quality, taste and its aroma.
In
the present market, bottle gourd juice is not commercially available. In India,
it is a common practice to intake bottle gourd juice without any further
clarification. This process of intake is not suitable as bottle gourd contains
a high amount of fibrous mass which is of no use to the body.
The
patented process provides a much clarified product for intake without any
suspended solid and keeping intact almost all the nutritional parameters. So
one can get the advantage of a whole bottle gourd fruit by consuming only
100-200 ml of the clarified juice.
- Advantages of
this technology
·
Unique formulation of membrane removes potent
sites for microbial growth.
·
Since, hot sterilization is not done the
aroma and the flavour or aroma of the bottle gourd juice was not deteriorated.
·
Since, no additional preservative was added
in the juice, the taste of the product was same as natural bottle gourd.
·
The process was carried out in hollow fiber
modules, which are very cost effective and easy to scale up for industrial
production.
- Summary of the
technical details
Ultrafiltration experiments was
conducted for 3 transmembrane pressure drop in the range of 35 to 104 kPa and
three cross flow rates (5 to 15 l/h). Various properties were measured. Finally, a detailed storage study was done for 8 weeks after
which the quality of the juice was deteriorated.
Bottle gourd juice contains high amount of fibres,
thus it is more susceptible to deterioration. Also, since the amount of
suspended solid is more, membrane fouling is more prominent. Hence, first a
prefiltration process of microfiltration was employed to reduce the solid
content. The microfiltered juice was then subjected to ultrafiltration by a 44
kDa PSF membrane. The optimum operating condition, based on productivity, was
found to be 104 kPa and 15 l/h for the ultrafiltration of
bottle gourd juice within the range of operating conditions studied herein. The
permeate flux obtained at this operating condition was 45 l/m2.h.
The storage
study was conducted for 8 weeks under normal refrigerated conditions and it was
seen that all the physic-chemical properties, especially nutritional qualities
like sodium, potassium, TSS and polyphenol show very less deviation from the
initial value. So the sample was perfectly alright till 8 weeks of storage in
aseptic packaging. The storage study was
carried out in laboratory conditions and significant results were obtained,
that even after 8 weeks the juice was almost same as the original one, i.e.,
the taste of the juice was almost same as in zeroth week.
5. Future prospects of the technology:
The technology is off-the-shelf i.e. it could
be brought to market with nominal investment.
Patent: 768/KOL/2014
- Brief
description:
In
this work, an appropriate characterization of the hollow fiber membranes has
been identified that has application in clarification of tender coconut water
with long shelf life. 44 kDa molecular weight cut off membrane (MWCO) was found
suitable for this purpose. A membrane based on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was
formulated to achieve this goal. The clarification process removed the sites of
potent bacterial growth. Thus, this process increases the shelf life of tender
coconut water significantly without adding any preservative after aseptic
packaging. Also, since there is no thermal sterilization, browning of the
coconut water does not occur. The final product from ultrafiltration is rich in
polyphenol (anti-oxidant), sugar, potassium and sodium. The process is very
economic, since the hollow fibers used are indigenous and very low cost (Indian
patent 582/KOL/2011). The final product can be
stored for 18 weeks under refrigerated condition without deterioration of the
taste or aroma of the product.
- Commercial
aspects of the technology & Industries benefiting from it
Generally
the shelf life of tender coconut water is increased before packaging by either
hot sterilization or addition of preservative. This deteriorates the quality of
the final product, taste and aroma.
This patent discusses cheap,
affordable solution, for the first time, to extend the shelf life of tender
coconut water without any heat treatment or addition of preservatives. The
clarification process removed the sites of potent bacterial growth without any
thermal sterilization. Thus, this process increases the shelf life of tender
coconut water significantly after aseptic packaging without adding any
preservative or heat treatment. The final product from ultrafiltration is rich
in polyphenol (anti-oxidant), sugar, potassium and sodium. It satisfies the
criteria of novelty, non-obviousness and usefulness.
The
invention has a tremendous commercial implication in the Indian and developing
country scenario alike. Coconut is only abundant in tropical regions near
coasts. So there is a high demand for coconut in the inland. This process
provides a suitable method for preserving all the nutritional qualities of the
coconut water without adding any external chemicals.
- Advantages of
this technology
·
Unique formulation of membrane removes potent
sites for microbial growth.
·
Since, hot sterilization is not done the
aroma and the flavor of the coconut water was not deteriorated.
·
Since, no additional preservative was added
in the juice, the taste of the product was same as natural coconut water.
·
The process was carried out in hollow fiber
modules, which are very cost effective and also very easy to scale up for
industrial production.
- Summary of the
technical details
Ultrafiltration experiments was
conducted for 4 transmembrane pressure drop in the range of 21 to 84 kPa and
three cross flow rates (5 to 15 l/h). Various properties were measured. Finally, a detailed storage study was done for 18 weeks after
which the quality of the juice was deteriorated.
Young tender coconut water has very low suspended
solid, so the membrane fouling is very less. Mature tender coconut water has a
high amount of suspended solid and hence the fouling is more. The productivity
for the membrane is 30 l/m2.h at the optimum operating condition of
84 kPa transmembrane pressure and 10 l/h cross flow rate. The storage study was conducted for 18 weeks
under normal refrigerated conditions and it was seen that all the
physic-chemical properties, especially nutritional qualities like sodium,
potassium, TSS and polyphenol show very less deviation from the initial value.
So the sample was perfectly alright till 18 weeks of storage in aseptic
packaging. The taste analysis shows that
the taste was perfectly like the original one after 18 weeks. It has been
confirmed by a series of experts that the taste was good and all showed
positive purchase intention. The storage study was carried out in laboratory
conditions and significant results were obtained, that even after 18 weeks the
juice was almost same as the original one, i.e., the taste of the juice was
almost same as in zeroth week.
5. Future prospects of the technology:
The industrial partners of this project, M/s Technorbital Advanced Materials Pvt. Ltd. are going ahead with the commercialization of
the technology.
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