Collection of ENEA technology and expertise
Bench-scale and pilot-scale tangential flow filtration membrane plants
Application sectors
Problem to solve
ENEA provides membrane plants, a key technology for agri-food companies, to innovate processes and products using traditional supply chains (olive oil, wine, dairy, etc.). These companies often face high management and disposal costs for by-products, waste, and effluents (process water, pomace, molasses, etc.). Membrane systems enable the development of serial filtration processes that: break down complex liquid matrices, create value through cascade processing, transform waste into reusable intermediate or final products. This innovative approach allows:single waste/by-product matrices to yield multiple valuable fractions, each fraction to be potentially used as finished products, complete valorization of all process outputs.
Description
Bench-scale plants allow separations on variable volumes between 2 and 5 liters/hour (L/h), operating in: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis modes.These systems allocate both ceramic and polymeric membranes, and can be used to develop separation strategies for unknown liquid matrices. Pilot-scale plants perform all the aforementioned filtration techniques with a treatment capacity of approximately 300-500 L/h. They enable: serial filtration protocols, liquid matrix fractionation, experimental trials with industrially transferable process parameters. These systems essentially allow for both: small-scale testing, pre-industrial scale process development. Particularly valuable for agri-food businesses, these plants help optimize processes to valorize the large quantities of liquid waste and by-products typically generated in this sector.
Innovative aspects and advantages
- Pilot plants are suitable to operate with quantities representative of industrial production, effectively simulating real production processes and even enabling the prototyping of final product(s).
- The plants are versatile due to their ability to carry out complex processes using membranes with different cut-offs, architectures, and material types, as well as the capability to set various working parameters.
- They can cover a wide range of separation techniques, enabling the serial fractionation of matrices and the production of various types of products.
Admissible applications
- Agri-food Industry: membrane systems enable the valorization of raw materials and by-products through extraction, separation, and concentration of target molecular fractions to produce high-value-added products.
- Among membrane technologies, reverse osmosis (RO) is the primary method for desalination, with applications in industrial, agricultural, and municipal sectors. The available equipment includes a seawater desalination system, demonstrating the.
- Membrane technologies enable the separation and concentration of active compounds (both synthetic and natural) from various media, including culture broths, solutions, and suspensions. This process is critical for drug development and nutraceuticals
Research group involved
Revision date
03-06-2025
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