Assessment of solvent resistant nanofiltration membranes for valorization of deodorizer distillates

• Solvent resistant nanofiltration for valorization of an agro-industrial by-product.
• Strong relationship between flux and swelling/solvent viscosity ratio was identified.
• Reasonable permeabilities and discrimination between target compounds were observed.
• Removal of contaminants from target fitosterols by diananofiltration is feasible.

The valorization of deodorizer distillates from the oil refining industry requires a stable membrane suitable to separate steryl esters (bioactive compounds with high molecular weight (MW), 65096%)(>96%) and significant low rejection of pesticides (<65%)(<65%), under optimised conditions.