Study of rotating disk assisted dead-end filtration of chicory juice and its performance optimization

• RDM assisted dead-end filtration of chicory juice is first studied.
• Membrane fouling by using normal stirred filtration cell and RDM is compared.
• RSM is used to find optimal filtration conditions.

Inulin was extracted by pulsed electric fields (PEFs) assisted diffusion. Rotating disk module (RDM) assisted dead-end filtration of chicory juice was studied. Filtration behavior, flux decline and fouling coefficient of RDM assisted filtration were investigated and compared with the performance of previously used normal stirred filtration unit. Response surface methodology (RSM), based on a three levels and two variable central composite rotatable design (CCRD), was employed to obtain the best possible combination of trans-membrane pressure (TMP) (X1: 2–6 bar), shear rate (X2: 12,000–102,000 s−1) for maximum average flux and minimum specific energy consumption. The experimental data obtained were fitted to a second-order polynomial equation using multiple regression and were also analyzed by variance analysis (ANOVA). The 3-D response surface and contour plots derived from the mathematical models were applied to determine the optimal conditions. The optimum filtration conditions were: a TMP of 3.34 bars, and a shear rate of 102,000 s−1. Under these conditions, the experimental average flux and specific energy were 154 L/m2 h and 169 kwh/m3, respectively, which were in close agreement with the values predicted by the model. Results of this work may contribute to increase chicory juice filtration for inulin purification.