Purification of twin-screw extruder-pressed sunflower oil using polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes

Abstract

This studv focused on the purification of crude sunflower oil wing ultrafiltration membranes, The experiment was conducted with twin-screw extruder-pressed sunflower oil and three polyethersulfone (PES) membranes cassette with a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 10,30 and 50 kOa and a permeation area of 0,09 m2. Several tests were carried out to define the best performance (permeate flux, phospholipids rejection, free fatty acid and color reductions) by studying the influence of operating conditions transmembrane pressure, temperature and tangential flaw rate. Permeate flux was lowfor all membranes rested but remained stable for a long period No long-term fouling appeared during the membrane processing. The permeate flux increased with MWCO of membrane, temperature, transmembrane pressure and tangential flow rate. The highest permeate flux of 26 l/m2 was obtained under operating conditions of 3.5 bar, 50°C and 0.1 m/s with membrane of 50 kDa. Furthermore, ultrafiltration membranes were found to have a positive effect on phospholipids and undesirable components removals, particularly with membrane of 10 and SO kDa.