New 10 kDa Membrane for enhanced performance in Dairy Ultrafiltration

Ultrafiltration is a core process in dairy production, especially for concentrating high-value products like whey protein concentrates, isolates, and skim milk.

The industry demands membranes that combine optimal selectivity with high throughput, without sacrificing consistency or long-term reliability. In this case study, the newly developed TRISEP 10kUF membrane was field-tested in multiple dairy processing environments across Europe and the United States to assess its performance against existing benchmarks.

"In dairy ultrafiltration (UF), salts and sugars like lactose should pass through the membrane unhindered, whereas proteins should be retained quantitatively."

Read the full case study

The customer

The evaluation was conducted with dairy processors in Europe and the U.S., including operators producing whey protein concentrates, whey protein isolates, and skim milk.

These facilities are highly specialized, requiring ultrafiltration systems that handle a range of product types while ensuring consistent protein retention and minimal membrane fouling.

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The challenge

In dairy ultrafiltration, performance cannot be reliably predicted from standard membrane specs like clean water flux or nominal cut-off. Each dairy product presents unique separation challenges, and the membrane must consistently perform across a broad range of compositions and processing modes.

The object of the study was to validate a membrane that could:

Handle diverse dairy applications.
Deliver significantly higher flow rates.
Maintain consistent retention and transmission performance across trials.

The solution

A new 10 kDa spiral wound membrane - TRISEP 10kUF - was developed and tested under real dairy processing conditions. Field trials were carried out using standard sanitary elements (e.g., DS 6338), following customer-specific protocols and operating modes including crossflow, circulation, and diafiltration.

The membrane was tested on various product streams, including:

Whey protein concentrates.
Whey protein isolates.
Acid whey.
Skim milk.

Across all tests, the membrane maintained comparable retention/transmission profiles while delivering improved permeate flow.

Highlights

Results from the field trials revealed a significant increase in permeate flow, ranging from 20% to over 40%, depending on the product type and protein content. These gains were achieved with no major change in retention characteristics, confirming that the membrane maintains the desired separation of proteins, lactose, and minerals.

Key outcomes include:

Enhanced performance across all tested dairy products.
Stable operation over extended filtration cycles.
Minimal flow reduction, comparable to existing reference membranes.
No compromise in protein retention or lactose/mineral passage.