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FBP focuses on bioseparation

Special issue looks at advances to help food processing, pharmaceuticals
and industrial biotechnology
THE forthcoming issue of Food and
Bioproducts Processing (FBP) is a special
issue on advances in bioseparation
technologies.
Bioseparation is becoming increasingly
important in industry. Biologics are
more widely used than ever before in the
pharmaceutical industry, and separating
them from the cell cultures is a bottleneck in
production. Biofuels and biobased chemicals
require low-cost, high-yield processes
for purification. The food industry too, is
affected. Consumers demand healthier
food, either with undesirable components
removed, or with so-called nutraceuticals
added to improve the nutritional benefits.
These applications also need large-scale,
inexpensive separation methods.
This new issue showcases some of the best
new innovations. It has been edited by Conan
Fee, of the Biomolecular Interaction Centre
and the Department of Chemical and Process
Engineering at the University of Canterbury,
New Zealand, and Marcel Ottens from
the Department of Biotechnology at Delft
University of Technology in the Netherlands.
See also New purification method for
bacteriorhodopsin (tce 873 p54) and Using
supercritical CO2 to obtain omega-3
(tce 872 p54)
separating caffeine from

green tea catechins
Researchers in the Netherlands have found
that polymeric resins can be used to separate
desirable catechins from green tea without
removing caffeine.
Catechins are a class of antioxidants that
have proven health benefits, including
anti-cancer and cholesterol-lowering
effects, so interest in them is growing.
However, techniques to separate catechins
from green tea, such as supercritical fluid
extraction, remove caffeine as well. Caffeine is
undesirable as it is a stimulant that can cause
various nervous system conditions. A team
led by Marcel Ottens at Delft University of
Technology found that certain macroporous
resins are very selective for catechins.
The researchers tested seven commercially-
available food-grade macroporous resins,

looking at the surface area of the resins,
absorption equilibria, the maximum capacity
of each resin and its affinity for caffeine
and catechins. They used a combination
of high throughput experimentation,
which runs many small-scale experiments
simultaneously, and computer modelling. A
score for each resin was calculated from the
results, which included a weight factor as a
function of the importance of each parameter.
Ottens and the team concluded that DIAION
HP20 from Sigma-Aldrich was the most
suitable for the separation of catechins from
green tea.
The use of solid phase extraction has the
added benefit of being non-toxic, and the
resins can be much more easily separated
than liquid solvents. The next step in the
research will be to design and evaluate a
large-scale process.
Food and Bioproducts Processing DOI:
10.1016/j.fbp.2014.02.002
an overview of
nanofiltration technology
Nanofiltration membranes have a lot to offer
the food and beverage industry in terms of
efficiency, lower energy consumption and
high specificity, says Fakhreddin Salehi of
Irans Gorgan University of Agricultural
Sciences and Natural Resources.
There is growing interest in the use of
nanofiltration (NF) membranes in the food
and beverage industry as an alternative to
traditional separation techniques. Salehi has
carried out a review of research and looks
at a number of recent developments and
applications.
Water treatment is one area where NF is
proving useful. Salehi found that NF can be
used to improve desalination processes, as
it removes potential biofouling components
such as organic matter. Coca-Cola Amatil
in Australia is already using the process. NF
membranes can be used to treat wastewater.
One example Salehi cites is seafood canning,
where NF is used to reduce the salt and the
organic matter that produces a strong fishy
smell in the waste cooking water by 80%.
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Fruit juices are concentrated

for shipping through vacuum evaporation,
which affects the flavour and colour due to
the heat applied. This process also uses a lot
of energy. NF can be used instead to preserve
the juices attributes. NF can also be used to
clarify fermented drinks such as beer.
In the dairy industry, NF can be used to
recover useful substances such as lactose,
proteins, vitamins and mineral salts from
waste whey, which would otherwise be lost. It
also helps to treat this problematic waste.
The sugar industry uses NF membranes to
remove undesirable coloured components
from cane and beet juice in a process that
uses less energy and is more environmentally
friendly than standard techniques involving
liming and filtration. Salehi found that NF is
useful in vegetable oil refining, eliminating
the need for large quantities of water, solvents
such as hexane, and energy for heating.
Optimisation of the permeate flow
rates, rejection of compounds, reduction
in membrane fouling and increases in NF
membrane lifetime appear as promising areas
for future study, says Salehi.
Food and Bioproducts Processing DOI:
10.1016/j.fbp.2013.09.005
april 2014
www.tcetoday.com
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For free abstracts and to purchase full articles visit: www.icheme.

FBP focuses on bioseparation

separating caffeine from

available food-grade macroporous resins,

IChemE member? Subscribe from just 25. Visit www.icheme.org/journals

Fruit juices are concentrated

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