Abrasion-Resistant Inorganic Membranes for Sugar Processing

The sugar and grain processing industries produce tens of billions of dollars worth of product each year. These industries have used membrane technology for some applications but membrane durability limits their widespread utilization. At present, there are no commercial cost-effective membranes that have the requisite process performance and lifetime for many applications within these industries. Inorganic membranes are either too expensive or are damaged by the abrasive-laden feed streams typical in sugar and grain processing applications. High temperatures, high viscosities, and membrane fouling have limited the use of polymeric membranes. CeraMem is proposing to develop low-cost, abrasion resistant, inorganic membranes for use in a number of sugar and grain processing applications. If successfully developed, these membranes could be priced less than half that of competing ceramic membranes and have higher flux and better flux stability than competing polymeric membranes. The use of low-cost, durable, inorganic membranes in the sugar and grain processing industries would increase flexibility in production and reduce cost. The membranes could be used to sterilize sugar juice and process liquors for subsequent processing increasing production flexibility or used to replace precoat filters thereby eliminating the costs of filter-aid sludge dewatering and disposal. In addition, this membrane technology could be used for other applications such as grain processing for corn sweeteners and production of ethanol as an alternative fuel.