Removing bacteria from pomegranate juice by ceramic membrane technology

Pomegranate juice,made from sour pomegranate growing in Hetian,Xinjiang as the raw material,was filtered with ceramic membranes of different pore sizes for removing bacteria from it.The parameters(membrane flux,bacteria-removing effect,rejection of components,etc.) of the ceramic membranes were compared for determining the suitable pore size,and the optimal bacteria-removing technology was studied.The results indicated that the suitable pore size for removing bacteria from the pomegranate juice was 0.22 μm,and that the optimum operation conditions were 0.20 MPa and 20℃.Using ceramic membrane filters,the suspensions and harmful bacteria could be removed effectively but the nutrients were retained in the juice.Meanwhile,some problems occurring in the process of heating sterilization were avoided such as browning and the loss of nutrients.