Resumen
- To determine the technical and economic feasibility of cross-flow microfiltration on an industrial scale, theexpected decline of permeation flux must be predicted taking into account the variability of juice’s foulingpotential. However, the main difficulty is finding representative parameters. Two semi-empirical models– gel polarisation and mechanistic – were used to fit experimental permeation flows using initial juiceturbidity as surrogate for the volumetric concentration of particles in the feed juice. The experimentaldata of different banana, pineapple, and blackberry juices fitted well in both models. Although the mecha-nistic model more accurately estimated the permeation flux density, for practical application, the simplerpolarisation model was preferred. Because this method uses a factor (i.e. turbidity) that reflects juice’sfouling potential, it allows the optimisation of processing parameters and the prediction of permeationflux range in real industrial conditions.