Clarification of Limed Sugarcane Juice by Stainless Steel Membranes and Membrane Fouling Analysis

The performance of stainless steel membranes with pore sizes of 100 and 20 nm in clarifying limed sugarcane juice was investigated under different operating conditions. An increase in transmembrane pressure (TMP) for the 20 nm membrane from 2 to 5 bar led to an increase in the average flux from 146.6 Lm(−2) h(−1) to 187.8 Lm(−2) h(−1) (approximately 9 h). The increase in crossflow velocity from 2 to 5 m/s led to an increase in the average flux from 111.9 Lm(−2) h(−1) to 158.1 Lm(−2) h(−1). The increase in temperature from 70 °C to 90 °C caused an increase in the average flux from 132.8 Lm(−2) h(−1) to 148.6 Lm(−2) h(−1). Simultaneously, the test produced a high-quality filtered juice with an average of 1.26 units of purity rise. The purity increased with time, and a 99.99% reduction in turbidity and an average 29.3% reduction in colour were observed. In addition, four classic filtration mathematical models and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses suggested that cake formation is the main mechanism for flux decline. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry indicated that organic fouling is the main foulant. This study demonstrates the potential of stainless steel membranes as filters for the clarification of raw sugarcane juice.